 |  |
Harvard Downs Yale in Final Bout To Claim The 2011 Ivy League Men's Fencing Title
Watch the championship-clinching bout here
PRINCETON, N.J. -- The 2011 Ivy League
Men’s Fencing Round-Robin Championship came down to the final
touch of the final bout between Yale and Harvard. On the strength
of a Michael Raynis touch, the Crimson won its first Ivy League
title since 2007. Harvard finished the two-day event with a 5-0
record, while Yale finished second at 4-1.
Penn finished third with a 3-2 record, while Princeton placed
fourth (2-3), Brown fifth (1-4) and Columbia sixth (0-5).
Sunday began with round-four action, where Yale downed Penn,
15-12, in an important showdown. Yale won epee 7-2, but Penn took
sabre, also by a 7-2 mark. In foil, Yale escaped with a 6-3
advantage to effectively win the contest by showcasing a balanced
attack that saw Nathaniel Botwinick,
Jonathan Holbrook and Shi Kachru
net two wins apiece.
More drama ensued in the sixth round. With Harvard sitting at 4-0
and on a bye, the Bulldogs knew they needed a win over Princeton to
set up a final round showdown. Yale went on to post a 14-13 win
over the Tigers as Yale’s sabre and foil squads each came up
with five wins to propel the Bulldogs to the win. In sabre,
Yale’s Nate Benzimra posted a 3-0 record,
while Princeton foilist Robert Malcolm was the
only other fencer to go 3-0 in the pivotal match.
Round one through six set up a round seven clash for the Ivy title
between Harvard and Yale. Yale was able to take a 13-11 lead in the
overall match with two sabre and three epee bouts remaining on the
slate. Consecutive sabre wins by Harvard’s Eric
Arzoian and Valentin Staller tied the
score at 13-13.
Yale freshman epeeist Cornelius Saunders
continued his impressive weekend by putting the Bulldogs up 13-12
with a 5-4 win over James Hawrot. Then, facing a
must win situation to keep the match going, Ben
White downed Benjamin Mappin-Kasirer,
5-1, to keep Crimson hope alive. And so, with the overall match
tied at 13-13, Yale’s Peter Cohen and
Harvard’s Raynis met to decide the title.
The duo traded touches before Raynis staked a 3-1 lead, followed
by a Cohen touch and a Raynis touch to make it 4-2. Cohen showed
his mettle and recorded two touches off patient attacks to tie the
bout at 4-4.
The crowd swelled and fell silent as the epees clamored against
each other one last time, and, in a flash, Raynis landed what
proved to be the title-winning touch.
“I give a lot of credit to Yale University,” said
Harvard head coach Peter Brand. “They did
something here today that, frankly, personally I didn’t
expect. But our guys came through. If somebody did not do well we
always had teammates backing them up … we’re very
excited and it was a wonderful weekend for us.”
The top three fencers in each weapon went on to earn All-Ivy first
team honors, while the next three finishers were named to the
All-Ivy second team. For the first time in Ivy Round-Robin history,
an Outstanding Performer and Outstanding Rookie of the event were
named based on a vote by the League’s head coaches, which was
held at the conclusion of Sunday’s competition.
Princeton’s Alex Mills, who went 13-2 in
foil, earned 2011 Outstanding Performer honors.
“I am honored to have this award,” stated Mills.
“Hopefully next year we will be able to win the whole
thing.”
Yale’s Saunders, who went 13-2 in epee, was named the 2011
Most Outstanding Rookie.
“I would like to offer congratulations to my team who, I
believe, put their entire heart and all of their effort into
training so hard for this event,” opened SaundersComplete Ivy
League Round-Robin recap to follow."
Ivy Interview: Harvard Head Coach Peter Brand
Ivy Interview: Yale's Cornelius Saunders
Ivy Interview: Alexander Mills with Princeton Head
Coach Zoltan Dudas
Final Team
Standings
1. Harvard, 5-0
2. Yale, 4-1
3. Penn, 3-2
4. Princeton, 2-3
5. Brown, 1-4
6. Columbia, 0-5
2011 Award
Winners
Men’s Most Outstanding Performer: Alexander
Mills (Princeton, Foil, 13-2)
Men’s Most Outstanding Rookie: Cornelius
Saunders (Yale, Epee, 13-2)
Men’s First Team
All-Ivy
Epee
Cornelius Saunders (Yale, 13-2)
Mike Raynis (Harvard, 12-3)
Alen Hadzic (Columbia, 10-5)
Foil
Alexander Mills (Princeton, 13-2)
Alex Pensler (Columbia, 11-4)
Nathaniel Botwinick (Yale, 11-4)
Sabre
Thomas Kolasa (Harvard, 13-2)
Evan Prochniak (Penn, 11-4)
Nate Benzimra (Yale, 11-4)
Men’s Second Team
All-Ivy
Epee
James Hawrot (Harvard, 9-5)
Jonathan Yergler (Princeton, 9-5)
Ben White (Harvard, 8-5)
Clifford Fishler (Penn, 8-5)
Foil
Shiv Kachru (Yale, 10-4)
Bo Charles (Columbia, 10-5)
Zane Grodman (Penn, 10-5)
Sabre
Eric Arzoian (Harvard, 10-5)
Valentin Staller (Harvard, 10-5)
John Stogin (Princeton, 9-6)
Complete Team
Results
Round 1
Yale def. Columbia, 19-8
Harvard def. Penn, 16-11
Round 2
Princeton def. Brown, 20-7
Penn def. Columbia, 15-12
Round 3
Harvard def. Princeton, 17-10
Yale def. Brown, 19-8
Round 4
Princeton def. Columbia, 19-8
Yale def. Penn, 15-12
Harvard def. Brown, 22-5
Round 5
Harvard def. Coumbia, 18-9
Penn def. Brown, 20-7
Round 6
Yale def. Princeton, 14-13
Brown def. Columbia, 15-12
Round 7
Penn def. Princeton, 15-12
Harvard def. Yale, 14-13
