Fresh off Thanksgiving break, the New York University men's fencing team competed in the Harvard University Invitational and recorded two wins against strong competition on Sunday, Nov. 29, in Cambridge, MA.

The Violets faced off against six opponents, winning bouts against Vassar College and Sacred Heart University to move to 3-5 on the season.

NYU dropped its first two matches of the day, falling to defending national champion Penn State University by a tally of 24-3 and to host Harvard by a score of 17-10.

In the third round, NYU picked up a 19-8 win over Vassar on the strength of its foil and epee teams both going 7-2. Junior Byron Neslund and sophomore Ricky Woodward both went 3-0 in foil to help lead NYU to its first victory of the day. Freshman Phil Jamesson also picked up three wins against Vassar in epee.

The Violets had a tough 15-12 setback to the University of North Carolina before rebounding for a 15-12 victory over Sacred Heart.

To close out the day, NYU fell to Princeton University by a 19-8 margin. Junior Kyle Wilson had an impressive showing against the Tigers, going 3-0 in sabre to finish off the invite on a positive note. 

"Despite the early losses, the team really dug in to beat Vassar and Sacred Heart," said NYU assistant coach Lauren Willock. "They were consistently positive and communicated with each other to turn bouts and matches around." 

Team Results

Round 1 vs. Penn State
Men's Sabre 2-7
Men's Epee 0-9
Men's Foil 1-8
Total 3-24

Round 2 vs. Harvard
Men's Epee 3-6
Men's Foil 3-6
Men's Sabre 4-5
Total 10-17

Round 3 vs. Vassar
Men's Foil 7-2
Men's Sabre 5-4
Men's Epee 7-2
Total 19-8

Round 5 vs. North Carolina
Men's Foil 3-6
Men's Sabre 6-3
Men's Epee 3-6
Total 12-15

Round 6 vs. Sacred Heart
Men's Foil 3-6
Men's Sabre 8-1
Men's Epee 4-5
Total 15-12

Round 7 vs. Princeton
Men's Sabre 4-5
Men's Foil 0-9
Men's Epee 4-5
Total 8-19