PHILADELPHIA – The Haverford College men's fencing team faced a tough lineup of primarily Division I schools this past Saturday at the Philadelphia Invitational hosted by the University of Pennsylvania.

The Fords opened strongly against New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in the first round, dominating in epee and foil, with a close loss in sabre. Haverford then faced battles with the host Quakers, Duke University and the University of North Carolina in succession before taking on Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association rival Johns Hopkins University in the last round of the day.

Leading the way for the Fords were foilist Max Findley and epeeist Eric Gardner, each with nine wins on the day. Findley stood strong against Duke with two wins while Gardner did the same against Penn.

Showing his tenacity, Gardner overcame setbacks suffered earlier in the day and came out strong in the sixth and final round, winning all three matches against archrival Johns Hopkins. Other strong performers on Saturday were foilist Baptiste Teyssier, who posted a winning 8-7 record, and epeeist Jake Bassinder, who won three of four bouts.

The Haverford fencers will travel to Boston next weekend to compete in the Eric Sollee Memorial Tournament at Brandeis University.

Haverford def. NJIT, 16-11
Epee: 6-3
Foil: 6-3
Sabre: 4-5

Penn def. Haverford, 21-6
E: 6-3
F: 6-3
S: 9-0

Duke def. Haverford, 20-7
E: 6-3
F: 5-4
S: 9-0

UNC def. Haverford, 16-11
E: 8-1
F: 0-9
S: 9-0

Johns Hopkins  def. Haverford, 21-6
E: 6-3
F: 7-2
S: 8-1