Nicholas Conroy
Posted: Jan 25, 2022
PHILADELPHIA - On Saturday, January 22, the Haverford College men's and women's fencing teams participated in their second of three non-conference tournaments against solely Division I and Division II opponents. The Philadelphia Invitational, held annually at Penn, draws top teams from all over the country each year to West Philadelphia.For the men, the Fords showed improvement in results against North Carolina and Penn across consecutive weekends, having gone from a 24-3 loss vs UNC on Jan 16 to an 18-9 decision on Jan 22, and from a 21-6 loss to Penn on the 16th to an 18-9 mark on the 22nd.
On November 16th, the start of the 2021-22 season, the Fords had lost to Sacred Heart 18-9; this past weekend, although still a loss, the result was 15-12. A drubbing by NJIT at 20-7, and a heartbreaker of a 14-13 loss to Lafayette, rounded out the day's competition.
Leading the sabreurs, and all men's fencers on the day, was senior captain Nick Conroy, with 11 wins against just four losses, including undefeated romps against Penn, NJIT, and Sacred Heart. Close behind him was sophomore Lucas Winkler, with eight wins, while Junior Neville Linden chipped in 3 wins for the sabre squad. Sabre's 22 wins on the day were the best result at the Philly Invitational since 2017. For the foil squad, First-year phenom Jax Wittenberg led with six wins, getting at least one win in all matches except against NJIT; while in epee, sophomore Danny Carvalho got his groove back with two wins each against Penn and North Carolina, and a fifth against Sacred Heart.
The Fords will finish their non-conference stint on Sunday, January 30 at the Sollee Invitational at MIT, where they will take on the best of Boston-area teams, as well as fence a rematch against Duke, and their first match against Princeton in over a decade of action.
Team Scores:
Sacred Heart def Haverford 15-12
Epee: 7-2
Foil: 6-3
Sabre: 2-7
North Carolina def Haverford 18-9
Epee: 5-4
F: 6-3
S: 7-2
Penn def Haverford 18-9
Epee: 6-3
Foil: 6-3
Sabre: 6-3
NJIT def Haverford 20-7
Epee: 8-1
Foil: 9-0
Sabre: 3-6
Lafayette def Haverford 14-13
Epee: 4-5
Foil: 8-1
Sabre: 2-7