FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Haverford College men's fencing team opened the whole-squad portion of its schedule in impressive fashion on Sunday at the Sacred Heart (University) Invitational.

In the initial round of the day, the Fords met and defeated Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association (MACFA) rival Stevens Institute of Technology, 14-13, in a closely-fought, intense match that came down to the wire, and was won in epic fashion in the last bout by co-captain, epeeist James Nieuwland. Nieuwland and fellow senior, sabrist Aaron Ruby, were both undefeated against the Ducks, who have trailed Haverford by as little as one touch in the last three MACFA Championships -- all won by Haverford.

The second round saw the Fords unable to topple home team and Division I powerhouse Sacred Heart, losing 19-8, although Nieuwland and sophomore foilist Max Findley each won two of their three matches. After a bye round in the third, the Fords took on Vassar College, always a close and exciting encounter as the teams are usually well-matched. Narrow losses by the epee and sabre squads, at 4-5 and 3-6 respectively, were offset by the foil squad's tremendous, lopsided win, 8-1, for an overall score of 15-12.

After the lunch break, Haverford had strong wins over MACFA rivals Army (West Point) and Yeshiva University, downing both 19-8.

The top finishers on the day were Nieuwland in the epee, at 9-3; in the foil, Lawrence Wang at 11-4 and Max Findley at 9-3; and sabrist Aaron Ruby posted an 8-4 mark. Also showing strong improvement and helping to carry the day were epeeist Warren Schwartz at 6-4, foilist Baptiste Teyssier at 6-3, and co-captain Linus Marco at 7-5 in the sabre.

Next Saturday the Fords will make a stand on their home turf against archrival Johns Hopkins University, as well as New Jersey Institute of Technology and William & Mary, in the Alumni Fieldhouse beginning at 10 a.m.


Haverford def. Stevens Institute of Technology, 14-13
Epee: 5-4
Foil: 4-5
Sabre: 5-4

Sacred Heart def. Haverford, 19-8
E: 7-2
F: 6-3
S: 6-3

Haverford def. Vassar, 15-12
E: 4-5
F: 8-1
S: 3-6

Haverford def. Army, 19-8
E: 3-6
F: 8-1
S: 8-1

Haverford def. Yeshiva, 19-8
E: 7-2
F: 7-2
S: 5-4