Dec. 11, 2008

Courtesy of Princeton

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- The Princeton men's and women's fencing teams opened their dual-meet seasons Saturday at Vassar with the men winning four of five and the women taking two of their five matches. One of the men's team's wins was over Ivy rival Harvard, though the win does not count toward the league standings. 

"As captains, we are very pleased with our results at Vassar," men's team co-captain Clayton Flanders said. "The most memorable part of the dual meet was when the team score with Harvard was tied 13-13, and epee fencer Graham Wicas in a high-pressure bout defeated his opponent 5-4 to gain victory over Harvard 14-13. Our only loss was against Penn State, the NCAA champion two years ago, and was a great measure of the strength of our team."

Wicas finished the day undefeated at 6-0, sweeping his competitors at Harvard and Penn State.

"We are also very happy to have a very strong group of freshmen this year," Flanders said. "Freshman foil fencer Alex Mills had excellent bouts against NYU and not only went undefeated at 3-0, but won the clinching bout to ensure a team victory over NYU 14-13 and finish the day at 8-1. Other freshmen have greatly helped the team by adding much more depth to the roster. The freshmen won all 17 of their bouts against Vassar and Sacred Heart."

Princeton's next meet will come at home, Jan. 25, when it hosts its own set of duals. Here are Princeton's complete results at the Vassar duals:

Men's: Princeton 13, Harvard 12
Sabre: 5-4 Princeton: Abend 1-2, Limoli 2-1, Stogin 2-1
Foil: 5-4 Harvard: Flanders 1-2, Mills 3-0, Howard 0-3
Epee: 5-4 Princeton: Sulat 1-2, Wicas 3-0, Elfassy 1-2

Women's: Harvard 17, Princeton 10
Epee: 6-3 Harvard: Bhinder 1-2, Scanlan 1-2, Clay 1-2
Foil: 7-2 Harvard: Petsche 1-2, Jarry 1-2, Zargham 0-2, Gong 0-1
Sabre: 5-4 Princeton: Merz 2-1, Cabrera 2-1, FIelds 0-1, Docheva 1-1

Men's: Penn State 17, Princeton 10
Sabre: 8-1 Penn State: Abend 1-2, Stogin 0-3, Limoli 0-3
Foil: 6-3 Penn State: Flanders 1-2, Howard 0-1, Mills 2-1, Kirschen 0-2
Epee: 6-3 Princeton: Sulat 1-2, Wicas 3-0, Elfassy 1-1, Gegan 1-0

Women's: Penn State 21, Princeton 6
Sabre: 6-3 Penn State: Merz 1-2, Cabrera 1-2, Docheva 1-2
Foil: 8-1 Penn State: Petsche 0-3, Jarry 1-2, Gong 0-2, Zargham 0-1
Epee: 7-2 Penn State: Bhinder 0-3, Scanlan 2-1, Clay 0-3

Women's: Princeton 20, NYU 7
Foil: 7-2 Princeton: Petsche 2-1, Jarry 3-0, Gong 0-1, Zargham 2-0
Epee: 7-2 Princeton: Bhinder 2-0, Chan 1-0, Karhson 0-1, Scanlan 2-0, Clay 3-0
Sabre: 6-3 Princeton: Merz 2-1, Cabrera 3-0, Docheva 1-2

Men's: Princeton 14, NYU 13
Foil: 7-2 Princeton: Flanders 2-1, Mills 3-0, Howard 2-1
Epee: 5-4 Princeton: Hurme 1-2, Gegan 1-2, Peck 3-0
Sabre: 7-2 NYU: Abend 0-3, Limoli 2-0, Stogin 0-3, Boswell 0-1

Men's: Princeton 18, Sacred Heart 9
Foil: 9-0 Princeton: Kirschen 2-0, Mandle 3-0, Moch 2-0, Heath 1-0, Fleissner 1-0
Sabre: 5-4 Sacred Heart: Stogin 2-1, Liss 1-0, Boswell 0-2, Abend 0-1, Bhaskar 1-0, Limoli 0-1
Epee: 5-4 Princeton: Burford 2-1, Elfassy 2-0, Sulat 1-0, Jahn 0-3

Women's: Temple 16, Princeton 11
Sabre: 8-1 Temple: Fields 0-1, Cabrera 1-2, Merz 0-3, Docheva 0-2
Epee: 5-4 Princeton: Bhinder 2-1, Scanlan 3-0, Clay 0-3
Foil: 5-4 Princeton: Petsche 1-2, Jarry 2-1, Zargham 2-1

Men's: Princeton 22, Vassar 5
Sabre: 8-1 Princeton: Stogin 3-0, Limoli 1-1, Abend 3-0, Bhaskar 1-0
Epee: 5-4 Princeton: Hurme 2-1, Peck 0-1, Gegan 2-1, Sulat 1-1
Foil: 9-0 Princeton: Mandle 3-0, Kirschen 2-0, Howard 3-0, Moch 1-0

Women's: Princeton 23, Vassar 4
Epee: 7-2 Princeton: Bhinder 2-0, Karhson 1-2, Clay 3-0, Chan 1-0
Foil: 9-0 Princeton: Gong 3-0, Petsche 3-0, Oliva 3-0
Sabre: 7-2 Princeton: Merz 3-0, Cabrera 3-0, Docheva 1-2