MADISON, N.J. – The Haverford College men's fencing team went 4-1 at the MACFA "A" vs. "C" bouts this weekend at Drew. The Fords defeated TCNJ, Cornell, Lafayette, and Rutgers, with the lone blemish coming in a hard-fought 14-13 team score against the host Rangers. After this weekend's results, the Fords are now a combined 6-3 in MACFA dual competition with the "B" vs. "C" bouts on the docket for this coming Saturday.
In total, the Fords won over 65 percent of their contested individual bouts and 13 of their 15 weapon squad matchups. Haverford's narrow defeat against Drew came despite the Fords winning both the foil and sabre matchups. The Fords' foilists and sabrists ended their successful day a perfect 5-0 in the squad battles as both combined for stealer 34-11 records among all individuals. Eight different Haverford individuals finished with winning records across all three disciplines.
John Hare led the way for the sabrists as he was a perfect 14-0, missing just one bout against Lafayette and finishing 3-0 during each of the other four rounds. David Parker gave way to his squadmates in the opening match against TCNJ but was outstanding when he rejoined the lineup as he compiled a 10-2 record. Parker went undefeated against both Cornell and Lafayette. First-year Nicholas Conroy added seven wins to sabre's total. Conroy fenced in four of the five rounds and posted multiple victories against TCNJ, Drew, and Rutgers. Kagan Harris contributed three wins to the sabrists over his two rounds of fencing. He started his day with a 2-1 showing against TCNJ as he later added a key win in the third round bout against Cornell.
Haverford's foil squad saw each of its three fencers finish the day with winning records. Jack Leighninger matched Hare's team high with 14 victories, suffering his only setback against Cornell. Nevertheless, Leighninger was undefeated during the other four rounds of fencing. Alton Wiggers also reached double figures in victories with his 11-4 record. He went 3-0 against TCNJ and Rutgers during the first and last rounds of fencing. Wiggers posted multiple wins against Cornell and Lafayette. Carter Langen posted nine bout victories. He won at least one bout during each round, sporting a perfect 3-0 mark against TCNJ while adding two more wins against Cornell and Lafayette.
Co-captain Gabriel Braun paced the epee squad with nine individual victories. Braun led by example as he was 8-1 during epee's squad victories. His day included perfect marks against TCNJ and Rutgers. Raynor Bond-Ashpole followed him with eight wins. He recorded multiple bout victories during four of the five rounds, toppling foes from TCNJ, Cornell, Lafayette, and Rutgers. First-year Adrian Velonis added bout victories during each of his squad victories. He won twice against TCNJ to start his day, later collecting wins against Lafayette and Rutgers to finish the afternoon on a high note.
MACFA dual competition wraps up this coming Saturday as the Fords will travel to NJIT and battle with the "B" grouping. Fencing is set to get underway at 10 a.m. this weekend. These will be the final bouts before the MACFA Championships which are slated for Sunday, March 3 back on the campus of Drew.
Complete team scores
Haverford 23, TCNJ 4
Epee: 7-2
Foil: 9-0
Sabre: 7-2
Drew 14, Haverford 13
Epee: 8-1
Foil: 4-5
Sabre: 2-7
Haverford 15, Cornell 12
Epee: 2-7
Foil: 6-3
Sabre: 7-2
Haverford 18, Lafayette 9
Epee: 5-4
Foil: 7-2
Sabre: 6-3
Haverford 20, Rutgers 7
Epee: 6-3
Foil: 7-2
Sabre: 7-2