SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Harvard fencing opened the season at the Western Invitational this weekend, as the Crimson shined on the golden coast. Both the women's team and the men's team ended the Western Invitational with 4-2 records.

Harvard women's fencing earned wins against Air Force, Incarnate Word, Northwestern and tournament hosts UC San Diego, as a shorthanded Crimson roster fell just short against Ohio State and Stanford. The Crimson men won their matches against Air Force, Incarnate Word, Brandeis and UC San Diego, as Harvard dropped results against Ohio State and Stanford.

In her first collegiate competition since winning gold and silver medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, senior foil fencer and team captain Lauren Scruggs was superb at the Western Invitational, as the Queens, N.Y. native finished the weekend with a 17-1 record. The women's epee group excelled at the Western Invitational, ending the competition with a team-best 41-13 record, as first-year Yasmine Khamis led the way with 15 wins.

On the men's side, 2024 Paris Olympian and first-year Colin Heathcock excelled in his collegiate debut on the second day of competition, as he finished with an 8-1 record, his lone loss against Ohio State decided by just one touch.

The 2024-25 season began with matches against Air Force, as both Crimson squads earned convincing wins against Air Force. The women downed the Falcons in convincing fashion, beating Air Force, 22-5. The women's saber squad was perfect against Air Force, as junior Chloe Williams (3-0), junior Zoe Kim (1-0), first-year Madison Duckett (2-0) and first-year Jenna Shoman (3-0) all went undefeated. The men defeated Air Force, 18-9, as men's epee led the way with a 7-2 record.

Harvard carried the momentum into matches against Incarnate Word, as both teams won by a margin of 20-7. As they did against Air Force, women's saber dominated against Incarnate Word, ending the match with an 8-1 record. In the men's match, the saber team was perfect, as sophomore Kevin Sohn, sophomore Prash Subbiah, and first-year Connor Liang all recorded 3-0 performances.

The first of competition at the Western Invitational ended with two more Crimson victories, as both teams ended the day undefeated. The women showed excellent resilience, outlasting Northwestern for a 14-13. Scruggs and Shoman were immense against the Wildcats, going undefeated to lead Harvard to the win. The men cruised to a 16-11 win against intrastate foe Brandeis, as men's foil shined with a 7-2 record against the Judges. Senior Justin Liu went undefeated with a 3-0 record.

The second and final day of action at the Western Invitational started with two wins against tournament host UC San Diego. The women prevailed with a 17-10 win against the Tritons, as sophomore Isabella Chin paved the way with a 3-0 record in women's epee action. The men were stout in a 14-13 win against UC San Diego, as Heathcock won the first three bouts of his collegiate career.

Both teams dropped their last two bouts of the tournament, falling against Ohio State and Stanford to end the opening weekend of the 2024-25 season with 4-2 records.

First-Years played a major role at the Western Invitational. Shoman, Duckett, Khamis, Heathcock, Liang, Sarah Gu, Nicholas Zhang, Gabriel Evers, Jeremy Lim, Alexander Tafur, Gabriel Evers, and Andrew Deng all made their collegiate debuts. A sophomore from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Kaitlyn Pak also made her collegiate debut at the Western Invitational.

UP NEXT:
The Crimson return to the strip on Wednesday, Nov. 13, heading to Chestnut Hill for the Beanpot.

WOMEN'S TEAM RESULTS:

W vs. Air Force, 22-5
Women's Epee (8-1)
Isabella Chin (5-4)(5-0)(5-1)
Emily Vermeule (5-2)(5-3)
Yasmine Khamis (3-2)(5-1)(4-5)
Sarah Gu (5-1)

Women's Foil (5-4)
Lauren Scruggs (5-1)(5-2)(5-0)
Eileen Ye (4-5)(5-3)(5-0)

Women's Saber (9-0)
Chloe Williams (5-2)(5-1)(5-1)
Madison Duckett (5-3)(5-3)
Jenna Shoman (5-4)(5-0)(5-2)
Zoe Kim (5-4)

W vs. Incarnate Word, 20-7
Women's Epee (7-2)
Isabella Chin (3-5)(5-1)(5-3)
Sarah Gu (5-1)(2-5)(5-2)
Yasmine Khamis (5-4)(5-1)(5-2)

Women's Foil (5-4)
Lauren Scruggs (5-1)(5-2)(5-1)
Eileen Ye (4-5)(5-2)(5-2)

Women's Saber (8-1)
Zoe Kim (5-0)(5-4)(5-3)
Kaitlyn Pak (5-3)(5-3)(5-0)
Jenna Shoman (4-5)(5-1)(5-2)

W vs. Northwestern, 14-13
Women's Epee (4-5)
Isabella Chin (4-5)(2-4)(4-5)
Emily Vermeule (5-2)(5-3)(1-5)
Yasmine Khamis (2-5)(5-4)(4-3)

Women's Foil (4-5)
Lauren Scruggs (5-4)(5-2)(5-2)
Eileen Ye (3-5)(5-4)(4-5)

Women's Saber (6-3)
Zoe Kim (3-5)(5-4)(4-5)
Jenna Shoman (5-4)(5-2)(5-4)
Chloe Williams (3-5)(5-1)(5-1)

W vs. UC San Diego, 17-10
Women's Epee (7-2)
Yasmine Khamis (5-1)(3-5)(5-4)
Isabella Chin (5-4)(4-3)(5-4)
Sarah Gu (4-5)(5-1)(5-3)

Women's Foil (4-5)
Lauren Scruggs (5-2)(5-2)(5-1)
Eileen Ye (3-5)(3-5)(5-3)

Women's Saber (6-3)
Chloe Williams (2-5)(5-4)(5-4)
Kaitlyn Pak (5-1)(1-5)
Madison Duckett (5-4)(3-5)(5-4)
Jenna Shoman (5-4)

L vs. Ohio State, 16-11
Women's Epee (6-3)
Isabella Chin (1-2)(4-5)(4-5)
Sarah Gu (5-2)(5-1)(5-1)
Yasmine Khamis (5-1)(5-4)(5-1)

Women's Foil (2-7)
Lauren Scruggs (5-0)(5-3)(4-5)
Eileen Ye (1-5)(2-5)(3-5)

Women's Saber (3-6)
Chloe Williams (5-4)(4-5)(4-5)
Jenna Shoman (2-5)(2-5)
Madison Duckett (5-4)(3-5)(3-5)
Zoe Kim (5-0)

L vs. Stanford, 14-13
Women's Epee (9-0)
Isabella Chin (5-2)(3-2)(5-2)
Sarah Gu (5-0)(5-0)(5-3)
Yasmine Khamis (5-0)(5-1)(5-1)

Women's Foil (3-6)
Lauren Scruggs (5-0)(5-2)(5-0)
Eileen Ye (1-5)(0-5)(3-5)

Women's Saber (1-8)
Chloe Williams (3-5)(2-5)(4-5)
Kaitlyn Pak (3-5)(3-5)(2-5)
Jenna Shoman (4-5)(2-5)(2-5)

MEN'S TEAM RESULTS:

W vs. Air Force, 18-9
Men's Epee (7-2)
Anthony Malysz (5-2)(3-5)(5-2)
Nicholas Zhang (4-5)(5-4)(5-2)
Alexander Tafur (5-4)(5-4)(5-4)

Men's Foil (5-4)
Justin Liu (5-2)(5-2)(5-0)
Daniel Zhang (1-5)(5-3)(5-2)
Jeremy Lim (1-5)(1-5)
James Chen (2-5)

Men's Saber (6-3)
Prash Subbiah (1-5)(3-5)(5-3)
Connor Liang (5-2)(5-1)(5-3)
Andrew Deng (3-5)
Kevin Sohn (5-0)(5-4)

W vs. Incarnate Word, 20-7
Men's Epee (5-4)
Ark Ma (1-5)(4-5)
Nicholas Zhang (5-1)(4-5)(5-1)
Alexander Tafur (5-3)(4-5)(5-3)
Gabriel Evers (5-4)

Men's Foil (6-3)
Daniel Zhang (5-1)(5-1)(5-0)
Justin Liu (5-1)
James Chen (5-2)(5-2)(3-5)
Theodore Fechtmeyer (2-5)(3-5)

Men's Saber (9-0)
Kevin Sohn (5-2)(5-1)(5-2)
Prash Subbiah (5-1)(5-2)(5-4)
Connor Liang (5-3)(5-0)(5-0)

W vs. Brandeis, 16-11
Men's Epee (5-4)
Anthony Malysz (2-5)(5-0)(4-5)
Nicholas Zhang (3-5)(5-4)(5-1)
Gabriel Evers (3-5)(5-4)(5-3)

Men's Foil (7-2)
Daniel Zhang (1-5)(5-1)(5-1)
Justin Liu (5-3)(5-2)(5-4)
James Chen (5-0)(5-2)(3-5)

Men's Saber (4-5)
Prash Subbiah (5-3)(5-3)(1-5)
Kevin Sohn (5-2)(2-5)(3-5)
Connor Liang (3-5)(2-5)(5-0)

W vs. UC San Diego, 14-13
Men's Epee (5-4)
Nicholas Zhang (5-3)(5-3)(5-3)
Owen Jin (0-5)(5-2)(4-5)
Alexander Tafur (4-5)(5-3)
Anthony Malysz (4-5)

Men's Foil (3-6)
Justin Liu (3-5)(2-5)(3-5)
Jeremy Lim (0-5)(0-5)(0-5)
James Chen (5-0)(5-2)(5-0)

Men's Saber (6-3)
Prash Subbiah (4-5)(2-5)(5-3)
Connor Liang (5-2)(2-5)
Colin Heathcock (5-1)(5-1)(5-0)

L vs. Ohio State, 20-7
Men's Epee (2-7)
Anthony Malysz (3-5)(3-5)
Nicholas Zhang (5-4)(5-0)(3-5)
Alexander Tafur (2-5)(2-5)
Gabriel Evers (0-5)
Owen Jin (1-5)

Men's Foil (2-7)
James Chen (3-5)(3-5)(5-2)
Justin Liu (2-5)(3-5)(5-4)
Jeremy Lim (1-5)(2-5)(0-5)

Men's Saber (3-6)
Prash Subbiah (5-1)(3-5)(0-5)
Connor Liang (4-5)(4-5)(3-5)
Colin Heathcock (5-2)(4-5)(5-2)

L vs. Stanford, 12-15
Men's Epee (3-6)
Anthony Malysz (4-5)(4-5)
Nicholas Zhang (5-2)(5-4)(5-3)
Gabriel Evers (3-5)(3-5)
Owen Jin (4-5)
Ark Ma (3-5)

Men's Foil (2-7)
Justin Liu (5-1)(2-5)(2-5)
James Chen (2-5)(5-4)(1-5)
Theodore Fechtmeyer (1-5)(0-5)(3-5)

Men's Saber (7-2)
Colin Heathcock (5-1)(5-4)(5-1)
Andrew Deng (1-5)(3-5)
Prash Subbiah (5-3)(5-0)(5-2)
Connor Liang (5-1)

For all the latest on Harvard Fencing, follow the team on Twitter (@HarvardFencing) and Instagram (@harvardfencing).