PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Haverford College men's fencing team continued its challenging January schedule this past Saturday at the Philadelphia Invitational. Nevertheless, Haverford continued to impress among some of the sport's best as it posted a five-win improvement from a week ago against Duke and recorded three more victories against North Carolina compared to the previous weekend. Additionally, the Fords nearly knocked off Ivy League foe Brown. The Fords fell by a heartbreaking 14-13 score in that hard-fought battle where three of Haverford's defeats came on a decisive fifth and final touch.
Haverford's foilists carried their momentum over from a week ago with more strong results against nationally-renowned individuals. The foil squad defeated North Carolina and was led by six victories from junior Jack Leighninger. Leighninger recorded at least one victory during each round, notching a pair of victories in the squad's win over UNC. Highlighting his individual results was a win against two-time NCAA qualifier Raymond Chen of host Penn. Alton Wiggers and Carter Langen also posted three victories throughout the day. Wiggers continued to impress fencing with the best in Division I as he beat 2017 NCAA qualifier Jacob Schwartzman of Duke. Langen's best round came when he recorded two crucial bout wins in the team's near victory against Brown.
The Fords' sabrists nearly paved the way to victory against Brown, taking eight of the nine bouts in that round. John Hare posted a 9-6 record overall and was a perfect 3-0 against the Bears. He won at least one bout during each of the five rounds, posting multiple victories against Duke and NYU as well. David Parker recorded seven bout victories. He also had success in each round, taking two bouts against Ivy League programs Penn and Brown. Nicholas Conroy added three key victories against Brown and finished his day with five wins. The team's shared success featured all three members of the squad defeating Duke's Duncan De Caire during the opening round. De Caire is a returning 13th place finisher from the 2017 NCAA Championships.
Epee was led by co-captain Kadan Lottick and sophomore Raynor Bond-Ashpole, with each notching a pair of wins. Lottick defeated foes from North Carolina and NYU, while Bond-Ashpole was victorious against Penn and Brown. Co-captain Gabriel Braun successfully secured his first win since moving over to the epee squad for the spring semester. His victory was a crucial point as it came during the hard-fought battle with Brown.
Men's fencing will take a break from official competition this upcoming weekend as the Fords welcome back their alumni on Saturday for the annual Alumni Bouts & Reception. Always a highlight of the year, Saturday's festivities will get underway at 11 a.m. inside the Andy Kates Fencing Salle. Haverford returns to the competition part of its schedule on Sunday, February 3 when the team treks to MIT for the Sollee Invitational.
Complete team results
Duke 21, Haverford 6
Epee: 9-0
Foil: 7-2
Sabre: 5-4
Penn 22, Haverford 5
Epee: 8-1
Foil: 8-1
Sabre: 6-3
Brown 14, Haverford 13
Epee: 7-2
Foil: 6-3
Sabre: 1-8
North Carolina 18, Haverford 9
Epee: 8-1
Foil: 4-5
Sabre: 6-3
NYU 22, Haverford 5
Epee: 8-1
Foil: 8-1
Sabre: 6-3