QUEENS, NY. – Harvard men's fencing wins the St. John's Invitational title after winning four out of their five matches on Saturday, January 21 at St. John's University.
Competing against some of the best fencing teams in the country, Harvard set the tone early in their first matchup against Penn State.
This match was tightly contested. However, it was the first-year,
Matthew Linsky, that pushed the Crimson over the edge. Linsky's three wins in the sabre matchup set up the sabre squad's 6-3 victory. This allowed Harvard a to narrowly defeat the Nittany Lions 14-13.
Harvard would carry their momentum over into their second match against Ivy League rival Columbia. Both the foil and epee squad's matchups went back and forth. However, the sabre squad once again led the way, this time with a dominant 8-1 victory over the Lions thanks to
Daniel Solomon's and
Mitchell Saron's three wins. Harvard would defeat Columbia 17-10.
The Crimson would face tough competition in their third matchup going up against Notre Dame. Valiant effort from the foil squad, led by
James Chen, gave them a 6-3 victory over the Fighting Irish. However, the Crimson came up just short, falling to Notre Dame 12-15.
Harvard returned to their winning ways in a rematch from the Air Force Western Invitational against Ohio State. The match was never in doubt after dominant wins from both the foil and sabre squad. For sabre, Saron and Linsky would each again achieve three wins while for foil, this time it was the captain,
Kenji Bravo leading the way with three wins. Harvard would defeat the Buckeyes, 19-8.
Harvard would finish off the St. John's Invitational strong against the hosts, St. John's. All three of Harvard's squads would win in this matchup, earning the team a 17-10 victory over the Red Storm.
Harvard went 4-1, tied with Columbia for the best record in the Invitational. However, since Harvard won the head-to-head matchup over Columbia, Harvard won the title.
Harvard Highlights
- This was Harvard's best showing in the St. John's Invitational since the 2017-18 season when they went 5-0.
- With 18 wins so far this season, Harvard only needs three more wins to pass the team record for most wins in a season which currently stands at 20 from 2019-20.
- The Crimson's foil squad is now a spectacular 19-1 on the season.
- Harvard's 14 game winning streak, ended by the loss against Notre Dame, tied their longest winning streak since 2011.
- Senior Mitchell Saron (sabre) recorded 11 wins, the most wins on the team at the Invitational.
Up Next
Harvard returns to Cambridge to face off against New York University on Saturday, January 28.
Results
Penn State – W 14-13
Sabre (6-3)
Filip Dolegiewicz (5-2) (5-2) (3-5)
Mitchell Saron (5-3) (4-5) (4-5)
Matthew Linsky (5-3) (5-2) (5-2)
Foil (4-5)
James Chen (5-2) (3-5) (3-5)
Kenji Bravo (5-3) (5-0) (5-4)
James Liao (1-5)
Andrew Chung (3-5) (3-5)
Epee (4-5)
Josh Willcox (0-5) (2-5) (3-5)
Jonas Hansen (4-3) (3-2) (4-3)
Anthony Malysz (0-5) (5-2)
Ark Ma (2-5)
Columbia – W 17-10
Sabre (8-1)
Mitchell Saron (5-2) (5-4) (5-1)
Matthew Linsky (5-4) (5-3) (3-5)
Daniel Solomon (5-4) (5-4) (5-3)
Foil (5-4)
James Liao (5-2) (1-5) (5-2)
James Chen (5-2) (5-1) (5-3)
Andrew Chung (1-5)
Justin Liu (1-5) (3-5)
Epee (4-5)
Ark Ma (4-5) (4-3) (5-1)
Josh Willcox (4-5) (2-5)
Jonas Hansen (3-2) (3-5) (5-3)
Anthony Malysz (4-5)
Notre Dame – L 12-15
Sabre (3-6)
Filip Dolegiewicz (5-4) (2-5) (4-5)
Matthew Linsky (1-5)
Jason Oh (4-5) (4-5)
Daniel Solomon (4-5) (5-3)
Mitchell Saron (5-4)
Foil (6-3)
James Liao (5-1) (2-5) (5-2)
James Chen (5-3) (5-0) (5-4)
Kenji Bravo (2-5) (5-0) (4-5)
Epee (3-6)
Ark Ma (5-4) (3-5) (5-3)
Josh Willcox (2-5)
Jonas Hansen (4-5) (5-3) (1-5)
Anthony Malysz (4-5) (0-5)
Ohio State – W 19-8
Sabre (8-1)
Filip Dolegiewicz (5-3) (1-5) (5-0)
Mitchell Saron (5-3) (5-2) (5-1)
Matthew Linsky (5-0) (5-1) (5-2)
Foil (7-2)
James Liao (5-4) (1-5) (5-3)
James Chen (5-3) (3-5) (5-3)
Kenji Bravo (5-2) (5-2) (5-4)
Epee (4-5)
Jonas Hansen (3-5) (4-5) (5-0)
Josh Willcox (4-5) (3-5) (5-3)
Ark Ma (5-2)
Anthony Malysz (5-4) (4-5)
St. John's – W 17-10
Sabre (6-3)
Matthew Linsky (4-5) (5-1)
Mitchell Saron (5-2) (5-3) (5-0)
Jason Oh (5-4) (2-5) (4-5)
Daniel Solomon (5-0)
Foil (6-3)
Justin Liu (5-2) (4-5) (5-1)
Andrew Chung (4-5) (5-3) (5-4)
Kenji Bravo (5-0) (3-5) (5-4)
Epee (5-4)
Jonas Hansen (5-1) (4-3) (5-2)
Josh Willcox (0-5) (3-5) (5-3)
Anthony Malysz (4-5) (3-5) (5-2)
