Early Tuneup Shows Promise

The Harvard women and men’s fencing teams began what looks to be one of its most promising seasons yet this weekend. At the Garret Penn State Open, the Crimson participated in its first tournament of the year and had a successful debut.

“This event is primarily for the freshman and sophomores, to give them a taste of what college fencing is all about and kick off some nervous butterflies they have,” Harvard coach Peter Brand said. “They have more than proven themselves.”

With many new faces on the team, Brand expressed a bit of worry about his women’s team prior to yesterday’s event.

“We are trying to manage some of the weak spots that we have on the women’s side,” Brand said. “We had one female recruit who suddenly decided to quit and this hurts us.”

But it looks like he has nothing to worry about. For the women, it was all about the freshmen yesterday as three fencers placed in their respective events.

Leading the Crimson on the day was freshman Caroline Vloka, who placed first in the sabre event in an impressive premier performance.

In the women’s epee, freshman Noam Mills finished sixth. In single elimination, Mills lost to the eventual first-place finisher in a nail-bitingly close match, 15-14.

“Noam is probably our best fencer here,” Brand said. “I think she’ll do really well for us this season.”

Following suit was freshman Shelby MacLeod, placing fourth in the foil. MacLeod was the only competitor for the Crimson in foil. Co-captain Emily Cross did not participate in the event today due to an injured ankle.

“[Cross’s] ankle is bothering her,” Brand said. “It’s a long-standing problem she’s had the last two years, including during the Olympic games. It’s kind of a day-to-day decision. She feels, and I do too, that we need to make sure she’s healthy for the year.”

After a weekend of much success, Brand is pleased to know he has some very talented freshmen in addition to a capable and experienced team. Teammates are well aware of the positive impression the freshmen are making as well.

“The freshman class is definitely very strong,” co-captain Kai Itameri-Kinter said. “They have a strong history before coming here. They’ve proven themselves and that they want to work hard while they are here. We are putting ourselves in a good position for the future.”

On the men’s side, junior Karl Harmenberg finished an outstanding day by placing in the top eight of the tournament in epee.

Freshman Valentin Staller finished 10th out of more than 40 fencers in sabre. Rookie James Hawrot also added a fine performance in epee, getting to the third round and just missing the top 16.

“Valentin’s a real promising fencer,” Brand said. “I think he’ll do well this year for us.”

Overall, Brand is pleased with his team’s opening weekend. Even with the impressive finishes, Harvard will have to work hard to improve from its sixth-place finish last year.

“We did probably as well, if not better, than we did last year in this tournament,” Brand said. “We have a few holes and weaknesses we’re going to have to fill. It’s a very strong year for the Ivy League.”

In a tournament of only individual events, it is difficult to predict where the Crimson will fall in the national rankings this year. Still, with the addition of many talented freshmen, the team can continue to be optimistic.

“We certainly have some very good, top-notch individual fencers,” Brand said. “We had a pretty good outing and overall a very good tournament.”