Crimson Fencers Destroy Crusaders, 19-8; Face Trinity This Afternoon in IAB Match

Harvard's fencing team destroyed Holy Cross last night... 19-8, impressively rebounding from last weekend's 17-10 loss to national champion New York University.

Don Valentine, returning from a semester of fencing inactivity due to academic probation, led the team's rout, sweeping his three foil bouts in impressive fashion. Valentine was joined in the undefeated ranks by Dave Fichter in foil. Terry Valenzuela and Gordon Ruttledge in sabre, and Ken Bartels in epee, Each of them won two bouts.

The Crimson totally outclassed the inexperienced Crusaders, capturing every event by a large margin. Harvard handily took foil and sabre by 6-3 scores, while overwhelming the Crusaders in epee, 7-2.

The Crimson superiority was clearly evident throughout, and Coach Edo Marion substituted liberally in the last round to give his less experienced fencers a chance to compete.

The Crimson win was an important step in preparation for today's match with Trinity and for Saturday's encounter with Princeton. Last weekend against NYU, Harvard fenced sluggishly en route to the loss. The only real surprise was the relatively close margin of defeat, Marion said yesterday that this year's NYU squad does not have the depth of some of their past teams.

"Last year NYU was the strongest intercollegiate team ever, taking firsts in all events at the Easterns. This year they come nowhere near that performance," Marion said.

In New York, Ruttledge was the standout of a disappointing weekend. He took two of his three bouts, the only Crimson fencer to win more than he lost.