Michael Woo fenced with the Crimson's foil squad that highlighted a 4-1 weekend for Harvard (Gil Talbot).

Poughkeepsie, N.Y. – Behind notable performances from, senior captain Michael Raynis, freshman walk-on Duncan O'Brien and the foil squad, the Harvard men's fencing team held four opponents to single-digit scores in a series of individual team matches  at Vassar in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Raynis went 13-1 in epee competition, while O'Brien also just lost one bout for Harvard (4-1) in the sabre event.

"O'Brien was very impressive in terms of competitive spirit," head fencing coach Peter Brand said of the newcomer's effort.

The foil squad consisting of Brian Kaneshige, Michael Woo, Jerry Chang and Lucas Lin also stood out for the Crimson, winning the majority of its bouts to help Harvard rout Sacred Heart, Vassar, NYU and North Carolina.

"The foil squad performed the best as a whole for the men," Brand commented. "They overwhelmed most of the competition."

Harvard got off to an exceptional start with convincing victories over Sacred Heart, 23-4, and host-school Vassar, 24-3, in rounds one and two, respectively.

In round three, the Crimson lost its only match of the day to Penn State, a program that includes two fencers who competed in the 2012 Olympic Games, Miles Chamley Watson (foil) and Daniel Gomez-Tanamachi (foil).

Harvard got back on track with a 19-8 win against North Carolina before toppling NYU, 23-4, to close out the day.

The Crimson next competes on Jan. 26 in Queens, N.Y., where it will take on Columbia, Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame and St. John's.