CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Past and Present Harvard fencers are enjoying a stellar summer on the international stage, as several Crimson took home hardware at the Pan American Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Representing Argentina, Isabel DiTella '15 rose to the occasion in the women's individual event, winning gold. After taking down American Hadley Husisian in the semifinal, 15-8, DiTella faced off against Canadian Ruien Xiao in the final. In an absolute thriller, DiTella prevailed, earning the gold medal with a 13-12 victory.

Two-time Olympic medalist Lauren Scruggs '25 won a pair of medals at the Pan American Championships in women's foil competition. In the individual event, Scruggs secured a bronze medal, defeating fellow American Jaelyn Liu in the bronze medal round. Fencing with the United States in the team event, Scruggs pushed the Americans to a gold medal. Scruggs and Team USA dominated Venezuela and Chile in the semifinals and quarterfinals. In the final, Scruggs led the Americans to a definitive 45-31 victory against Canada to earn another gold medal in international competition.

The men's saber competition saw two Crimson excel. Sophomore Colin Heathcock earned gold medal honors. A pair of wins against Mexico's Zea Gibran and the United States' Antonio Heathcock set up a meeting with American William Morrill in the gold medal round. In a back-and-forth bout, Heathcock prevailed, taking down Morrill 15-14 for the gold medal. Along with Heathcock, Mitchell Saron '23 also earned a medal in the men's saber individual event, taking home a bronze medal.

Saron and Heathcock returned for the men's saber team event, leading the United States to a gold medal. Convincing wins against the Dominican Republic and Colombia in the quarterfinals and semifinals set up a meeting with Cananda in the gold medal round. Heathcock and Saron cruised to a gold medal win, defeating the Canadians convincingly in the final, 45-17.

An All-American Second Team selection in his first collegiate season, sophomore Nicholas Zhang helped Canada win a bronze medal in the men's epee team event. Incoming first-year Lucia Zhang pushed Canada to a silver medal in the women's foil team event.

Later this month, Harvard will be well represented at the World Fencing Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia from Tuesday, July 22^nd to Wednesday, July 30^th.

Scruggs will compete for the United States in women's foil competition at the World Fencing Championships, while Lucia Zhang and incoming first-year Emily Jing will represent Canada.

In men's saber, Heathcock and Saron to return to the international stage to represent the United States. The women's epee competiton sees DiTella fence for Argentina while Nicholas Zhang will travel to Tbilisi to fence with Canada in the men's epee competition.

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