Forty-one colleges will compete for individual and team honors in the NCAA fencing tournament today and tomorrow in the IAB. Beginning at 8 a.m., the matches last until midnight both days.

After sweeping the three-weapon crown as well as many individual awards at the Eastern Intercollegiate Fencing Championships at Annapolis a week ago, Navy looms as a top contender. The New York City teams--Columbia, City College and N.Y.U.--are also slated to finish high. Fencing is one of their major sports, and their teams include a number of men with high school experience.

Although none of last year's individual champions are returning to defend their titles, the match will include some of the top collegiate fencers. Marvin Garvoy of N.Y.U., who won the Eastern crown, is returning to the Nationals to compete in the foil. Paul Pesthy, Rutgers' winner in the sabre, will also enter. John Rayfields, Eastern epee winner from C.C.N.Y., will also be on band.

Dan Kirsch will represent Harvard in the foil competition. A senior letterman, he has more Ivy wins than any other Crimson fencer in the past several years. He placed twelfth in the Nationals last year and has also entered the Easterns.

Kirsch's fencing style is often unorthodox, although effective. He tends to "fight" when he fences, frequently neglecting classical manuevers for a fierce, direct attack.

Bill Neaves, a promising sophomore, is the Crimson entrant in the epee. This tall Texan, who boasts five Ivy wins, was an outstanding winner on the freshman team.

Paul Zygas is Harvard's sabre contestant. A consistently successful fencer, he beat the eventual individual sabre winner at the Nationals.

In the NCAA competition, the one man whom each college enters in each weapon fences against every other man in that weapon. Twelve bouts occur at one time, three in each weapon.