Posted: Jan 22, 2024
PHILADELPHIA - This Saturday, the Haverford men's fencing team participated in the Philadelphia Invitational, hosted by Penn. Saturday represented the second of three weekends where the Fords took on primarily DI and DII opponents as preparation for the Conference and Championship portion of the season.
The Fords were able to defeat both of their rivals, edging Division I's Wagner 14-13, and downing Division I Lafayette, 18-9. Losses came to NJIT, North Carolina, and hosts Penn, however Haverford's stellar foil squad had 5-4 wins over both NJIT and Penn. This was the second year in a row that Haverford's foil squad beat Penn in their own house.
Foilist Michael Pyo led all Fords fencers on the day, going 9-3, including a 3-0 domination of Penn. Fellow foilists Andrew Strayer (6-8), Henry Fedonchik (4-8) and Henry Bishop (3-1) contributed to the success of the squad.
Other leading scorers for the team included two epeeists, Daniel Carvalho and Eric Chen, who each contributed four wins, including vs Penn; while Lucas Winkler and Prem Bhatt each had three sabre wins, anchoring the sabre squad with one apiece versus Penn in the last round.
Haverford fencers will next travel to Brandeis University, just outside of Boston, to compete in the Sollée Invitational on Saturday, Jan 27. Opponents will include ACC DI powerhouses Duke and Boston College, as well as MIT, Brown, and the host Judges.
Team Scores:
Haverford def. Wagner, 14 - 13
Foil: 6-3
Epee: 5-4
Sabre: 3-6
NJIT def Haverford, 19 - 8
F: 4-5
E: 7-2
S: 8-1
North Carolina def Haverford, 23 - 4
F: 6-3
E: 8-1
S: 9-0
Haverford def Lafayette, 18 - 9
F: 6-3
E: 6-3
S: 6-3
Penn def Haverford, 16 - 11
F: 4-5
E: 5-4
S: 7-2