Tiger fencers dominate weekend

This weekend, in addition to a string of Ivy League victories, a Princeton team swept the Blue Devils of Duke at Jadwin. Don't be shocked — while men's basketball is good, they aren't quite that good. However, their neighbors, the Princeton fencers, certainly are. The women swept this weekend's matches against Harvard, Yale and Duke. Then, the men also defeated the Elis and the Blue Devils, only to fall short to the Crimson.

The men's team rode an all-weapon sweep of the Blue Devils to victory over Duke and also vanquished Yale but came up just short of an all-team sweep, falling to Harvard due to weak performances from the epee and sabre squads.

Freshman standout foil Alejandro Bras won all three bouts against Duke. Junior foil Scott Sherman and senior foil Eric Stodola would also bolster the foil squad, adding up to a 7-2 win for the weapon. Senior James Leighton also swept the Blue Devils, winning all three bouts in sabre. Both the sabre and epee weapons would eke out victories against Duke, 5-4.

While not in as resounding a fashion as their first match, the Tigers also defeated Ivy rival Yale, winning in sabre, 7-2, and foil, 6-3, but losing in epee, 5-4.

The dominant Tiger foil squad also managed to secure a win against Harvard, posting a 5-4 victory. This would be the sole victorious weapon, however, as epee and sabre fell, 5-4 and 6-3, respectively.

While the Tiger women also struggled against the powerful Harvard squad, they would post a sweep of all teams present by the end of the day. Despite epee losses against Harvard, Yale and Duke, strong showings from the sabre and foil buoyed the team to a resounding 48-25 combined score for all matches. After a disappointing finish against Penn, the Tigers showed skill and passion in their battles against Harvard and Yale.

"We've never felt so unified and tight as a team before," junior foil captain Inhwa Song said. "We have never been this close, fighting for each other and urging each other on."

Despite the 6-3 epee loss, the Tigers beat Yale handily, posting a 8-1 score in sabre and a 6-3 showing in the foil.

But the most exciting match came against Harvard. With the Tiger squad down down, 8-10, after the second round, the Crimson only needed four victories to win. Yet Princeton was undeterred. The Tigers came back to win the next six bouts in a row, seizing the winning 14th bout of the match.

The sabre squad sparked the team during the final round and proved instrumental in the win. Freshman Elan DiMaio won the first bout, followed by wins from junior captain Catherine Pack and freshman Mina Morova.

Encouraged by their win against the Crimson, the Tigers next tackled Duke. While extremely shallow in sabre and foil weapons, the Blue Devils have produced a very difficult epee squad this year with the help of head coach Leslie Marx, a Duke alum and former Olympic fencer. While the Princeton epee squad was clearly overwhelmed, losing 6-3, the foil and sabre squads made up for their besieged teammates, helping the team to pull out the win in convincing fashion.

"Over all, the weekend went great, and we are poised and ready for our upcoming tournament next weekend, Eastern Championships at Vassar," Pack said. "This meet was also a great indicator of how we will be fencing in the future."