Fencing Teams Both Fall

The Harvard fencing teams had one edge when they traveled to New York this weekend to combat perennial powerhouse Columbia--the Crimson heart and spirit. Unfortunately, that did not prove to be quite enough.

The scoreboard revealed the final result--a 20-12 loss for the women and a 23-4 defeat for the men. HARVARD  4 COLUMBIA  23 HARVARD  12 COLUMBIA  20

However, both the Harvard men and women were encouraged by their performances.

Boasting two victories, captain Bert Bangayan led the men's team (1-5). Adding the other two wins were sophomore Eugene Cha and freshman Hashim Mooppan.

Losing to a much weaker opponent in Brandeis, 19-8, on Wednesday, the Harvard men were only four victories short of matching this score against Columbia. And at least four of Harvard's individual bout losses occurred by a score of 5-4.

"We were definitely in the match and fought a good match," said Bangayan, a sabre. "But they are a notch above our level."

This is a largely a result of the different attitudes of the two schools towards recruiting. While Columbia recruits heavily, Harvard takes a more laid back approach.

Stacked with four of the top fencers in the nation, the Columbia men have several candidates for the Olympics in the year 2000. As a result, most members on the team train individually.

With plenty of time to train in the next couple of months, the Harvard men hope to be fully prepared for their showdowns against Penn and Princeton at the end of February.

"We plan to focus on fundamentals," Bangayan said. "If we can perfect the basics and execute the simple moves really well, then we will be in very good shape."

This past weekend, the tale was quite similar for the Harvard women, with one difference: the women posted more favorable results on the scoreboard, but still lost.

Just like the men, the women competed against some of the top fencers in thenation, including the top woman fencer in thecountry, and although the Crimson spirit remainedstrong, Columbia prevailed on the scoreboard.

"We showed a lot of energy and enthusiasm,"said sophomore epee Elizabeth Aranow. "And despitebeing the underdog, we had great performances."

With at least three 5-4 losses, the Crimsonfell just short of making the match a close finalscore.

While the women's foil team lost 14-2, the epeesquad emerged with an impressive 10-6 victory.

The Harvard women felt somewhat at home in NewYork.

"With the support of parents, we had more fansthan we usually have at home matches," Aaron said."I hope to see more people at the upcoming homematches."

The next home matches will occur in February,when the Crimson will spar against theconsistently strong Ivy League

However, both the Harvard men and women were encouraged by their performances.

Boasting two victories, captain Bert Bangayan led the men's team (1-5). Adding the other two wins were sophomore Eugene Cha and freshman Hashim Mooppan.

Losing to a much weaker opponent in Brandeis, 19-8, on Wednesday, the Harvard men were only four victories short of matching this score against Columbia. And at least four of Harvard's individual bout losses occurred by a score of 5-4.

"We were definitely in the match and fought a good match," said Bangayan, a sabre. "But they are a notch above our level."

This is a largely a result of the different attitudes of the two schools towards recruiting. While Columbia recruits heavily, Harvard takes a more laid back approach.

Stacked with four of the top fencers in the nation, the Columbia men have several candidates for the Olympics in the year 2000. As a result, most members on the team train individually.

With plenty of time to train in the next couple of months, the Harvard men hope to be fully prepared for their showdowns against Penn and Princeton at the end of February.

"We plan to focus on fundamentals," Bangayan said. "If we can perfect the basics and execute the simple moves really well, then we will be in very good shape."

This past weekend, the tale was quite similar for the Harvard women, with one difference: the women posted more favorable results on the scoreboard, but still lost.

Just like the men, the women competed against some of the top fencers in thenation, including the top woman fencer in thecountry, and although the Crimson spirit remainedstrong, Columbia prevailed on the scoreboard.

"We showed a lot of energy and enthusiasm,"said sophomore epee Elizabeth Aranow. "And despitebeing the underdog, we had great performances."

With at least three 5-4 losses, the Crimsonfell just short of making the match a close finalscore.

While the women's foil team lost 14-2, the epeesquad emerged with an impressive 10-6 victory.

The Harvard women felt somewhat at home in NewYork.

"With the support of parents, we had more fansthan we usually have at home matches," Aaron said."I hope to see more people at the upcoming homematches."

The next home matches will occur in February,when the Crimson will spar against theconsistently strong Ivy League

"We showed a lot of energy and enthusiasm,"said sophomore epee Elizabeth Aranow. "And despitebeing the underdog, we had great performances."

With at least three 5-4 losses, the Crimsonfell just short of making the match a close finalscore.

While the women's foil team lost 14-2, the epeesquad emerged with an impressive 10-6 victory.

The Harvard women felt somewhat at home in NewYork.

"With the support of parents, we had more fansthan we usually have at home matches," Aaron said."I hope to see more people at the upcoming homematches."

The next home matches will occur in February,when the Crimson will spar against theconsistently strong Ivy League