No one, not even Coach Rene Peroy, would deny that there is enough material this winter for an outstanding fencing team. Practically all of the first-stringers are back, and the 1939 record is not to be sneezed at. Yet it is perhaps too early to climb out on a limb and predict a full string of wins.

Last year's swordsmen, although they soundly drubbed Yale and annexed the Pentagonal foll championship besides, did not come up to preseason expectations. Rene called the present group "a well-balanced team," and said the chances were good for an undefeated season "unless something happens."

When he takes his squad to Brown on Saturday for the first official competition, he will have an opportunity to judge how much his boys have benefitted by the experience and coaching of the four months. He will probably use several Sophomores, as this should be an easy match and it is his policy to give everyone a chance to show his stuff. But there was a dearth of material coming up from the '42 squad, and the season's prospects really depend on whether or not the returning lettermen have improved.

The sabre team is more or less of a question mark at present, as two sabremen were lost by graduation. Tom Wright, however, is a ray of hope there, and if his teammates, Wynn Alberts, Bob Batt, and Cal Williams, measure up to him, the sabre may make the difference between a good season and an exceptional one. Tom is definitely the ace of blades as far as the sabre team is concerned, and indeed is a standout on the whole squad. Fast as lightning, he has the perfect form and timing which make his movements seem as easy and graceful as they are speedy. The surprising counter-attacks which featured his bouts last year frequently disconcerted his opponents and threw them off balance. In the Pentagonals at Annapolis Tom beat the man who won the individual championship in the sabre.

Captain Al Labastie is the number one man in the foil. Like Wright, he has a great deal of natural ability, although he never had a sword in his hand before his Freshman year. His style is characterized by uncommon speed and aggressiveness and by a fast, far-reaching lunge. His vigorous parries make him well-nigh invulnerable against the average opposition, and his attacks are always well-planned. It was something of a surprise when Al did not win the individual foil championship in the gruelling two-day Intercollegiate last year. Close behind him in the foil is Crannie Jones, who as captain of Al's Freshman team, did not lose a single bout in the whole season. Art Jaros and Ben Johnson capably back up Al and Crannie to make the foil team the strongest of the three.

In epee Bill Croach and Amos Murphy are about equal; Amos probably has a slight edge because of long experience and a tremendous reach. Both are tall and rangy (Croach 6 ft. 5 in.; Murphy 6 ft. 7), and both have a bold and aggressive style of fighting. Lynn Brua, the New England junior champion in epee last year, is a valuable addition to this duet.

Navy is the big menace in the Pentagonals and Intercollegiates this year, while Yale will be the most serious obstacle to success in the dual meets. If Eli Coach Grasson teaches his swordsmen the usual lunging, slashing, pellmell tactics, it is doubtful if they will be a match for the calculated, better-timed motions of the Peroymen. In the meantime coaching will be all-important, and Rene is the man to see to that. Schooled in Olympic competition, and three times a member of the U. S. national foil team, he not only tells his fencers how to do it, but with phenomenal speed and accuracy he shows them how it's done himself.