As Princeton swept to an 81-win victory, Harvard dropped to ninth place in the second and final day of the N.C.A.A. fencing competition in the I.A.B.

Princeton owed its victory--and its rise from a four-team tie for fourth place--to the inspired foil fencing of Bill Hicks, who won 32 of his 33 bouts. John O'Sullivan(sabre) and Robert White(epee) also turned in high scores for the Tigers.

Only two wins behind Princeton, N.Y.U. finished the tournament in second place. Columbia (76), last year's champion, ranked third. Navy, whose upset victory in the Easterns made them a favorite in the Nationals, finished fourth with 75 wins. Notre Dame (73) took fifth place, Air Force (71) sixth and Illinois (70) seventh and Pennsylvania (68) eighth.

At the end of the first five rounds on Friday, Harvard was jammed in a four-place tie for fourth place. Scores and expectations dropped rapidly Saturday as the Crimson slipped to the same spot it won last year. But this season the Crimson fencers missed first place by only 14 wins; last year they stood 23 wins behind the victor.

Hicks Lost Once

Princeton's Hicks provided many of the thrills of the tournament, racking up 32 wins and losing only to N.Y.U.'s star fencer Marvin Garovoy (29-4). Winner of the individual foil championship award and a member of the First All American Team, Hicks was voted the Illinois Memorial Trophy for "best Fencer of the Year."

Garovoy, first-place winner in the Easterns, ranked second in individual foil awards. Cornell's Ron Schwartz (26) took third place. The top three individual winners in each weapon made the Olympics.

Harvard's Dan Kirsch scored fifth place, thus making the All-American team. He tied with Notre Dame's Bill Terence with a 25-win score but took fifth because more touches had been scored against him.

Zygas Twelfth

Craig Bell's 31-4 sabre record pulled Illinois into seventh place. Tom Pescivaradi from Drexel took second place with 28 wins and 85 touches against him. Renel Liebert from Columbia ranked third with 28 wins and 100 touches against him. Harvard's Paul Zygas finished twelfth with 23 wins. He lost five decisive bouts by heartbreaking 5-4 scores.

Paul Posthy, Rutgers' epee champion in the Easterns, swept to another championship with a 31-3 record. Trailing far behind. Air Force's Jack Patterson (26) took second place: Bob White (25) from Princeton scored third.

Harvard's Bill Neaves dropped from a three-man tie for fourth place at the end of the first day to fourteenth.