Epeeists dominate matches

“During exam period, [head coach Zoltan Dudas] was very considerate of our situation and made practice optional so that we [could] have time to study for our exams,” Bhinder said. “Even during these optional practices the team made a strong showing, which demonstrated their determination in doing well in the upcoming tournament.”

For the men (10-4), the epee squad performed the best over the weekend with an overall record of 14-13. The foil squad was not as lucky, however, with a record of 6-21. On the other hand, the sabre squad was unpredictable. The trio of sophomore Thomas Abend, senior Rob Brenner and freshman John Stogin swept Brown 9-0, but sophomore Paul Boswell joined the squad for the matchup with the Lions, and none of the four recorded a victory. Combined with its 5-4 record against the Crimson, the sabre squad barely broke .500 with a 14-13 overall record.

“We beat Brown pretty handily, but still the team showed some uncharacteristic faltering with a few losses that should have been victories,” men’s senior epeeist and captain Tommi Hurme said.

For the women (7-5), the epee squad was also the most effective. Over the four bouts, they went 21-15 led by Bhinder, who only lost two bouts all day. The foil and sabre squads were not nearly as successful, going 16-20 and 9-27, respectively.

“Although the overall performance may not have been as great as we expected, there were several great individual moments,” sophomore epeeist Chandler Clay said. “It was a tough competition, and the Ivy League has the majority of top fencers, so the wins we did have were well-earned while the losses were tough but not devastating.”

Over Intersession, the Tigers were much more successful. On Jan. 27, they went a combined 9-0 in dual meets against varsity and club squads. The men destroyed Lafayette (2-8) 26-1 and also handily defeated Rutgers, Haverford (7-13), Drew, Army and Cornell (3-2). Their closest margin of victory was seven bouts, against Army. The women followed up by beating Rutgers, Drew and Fairleigh Dickinson (0-10). Unfortunately for the Tigers, success against non-conference opponents did not translate to Ivy League victories.

The victories over their non-conference opponents came on the heels of a good showing for several members of the Princeton team at a North American Cup event in Atlanta, Ga.

Freshman epeeist Graham Wicas turned in the best performance of any Tiger, placing third out of 259 competitors in the senior epee event, while Hurme placed 28th. Other current and alumni fencers performed well on both the men’s and women’s sides.

“Though the championship may not be in our range for this year, I can confidently say that it most definitely is for next year, as we are losing only one member of our team and gaining several phenomenal fencers,” Clay said.

The Tigers now look forward to this Sunday’s Ivy League “South” tournament at Jadwin Gymnasium, where both the men’s and women’s teams will face Yale and Penn. This is a key Ivy League match for both teams, as it will be the Tigers’ only bouts against the Bulldogs and Quakers this year. Both teams have only one league win, and Princeton will need to win both of its games this weekend to finish respectably in the Ivy League.