It is the only true Ivy League duel of the year.
The seven schools with fencing programs met in New Haven, Conn. on Sunday for Day 1 of the Ivy League Round Robin.
The Quakers men and women entered with a combined 18-2 record, and they continued to bout well, defeating both Harvard and Yale. But Columbia proved to be too much, as the Lions swept the women 9-0 and used their sabres to hand the men a disappointing 15-12 loss.
Against the Bulldogs, Penn lost only one weapon: the men's foil (6-3). The women won 18-9, and the men 17-10.
Harvard was a bit more challenging. With the teams tied at 13, the match between Abby Emerson and Misha Goldfeder went down to the final touch. But Emerson struck first, and the Quakers emerged victorious.
The Berkowsky brothers- Jon and Ron - came up big against Harvard, each winning all three matches. Freshman foil Alex Salsman also went 3-0 as part of an 8-1 foil victory, and while Penn's epees were beaten badly, the sabres held their own to give the Red and Blue a 16-11 win.
The Quakers will head north on I-95 next Sunday to Princeton, N.J. for the second and final day of the tournament. They will take on the remaining three Ivies: Brown, Cornell and Princeton.
- David Gurian-Peck
