The Crimson fencers began and ended Saturday's match on shaky footing, but in between performed well enough to eke out a 14-13 decision over Princeton at the IAB.

Harvard struggled through the first round of fencing, dropping two of the first three bouts, to emerge with a precarious 5-4 lead after nine events.

In first round sabre action Gordon Ruttledge was the only Harvard performer to pick up a win, as the usually strong sabre squad lost two out of three bouts. Ken Hetzler opened the match with a 5-0 loss and Terry Valenzuela, upset in a controversial decision, followed suit.

Crimson Wrath

The Valenzuela bout evoked the wrath of the Crimson, particularly that of Valenzuela and coach Edo Marion. The director, interpreting he action, deprived Harvard of two touches and consequently the bout, 5-3. In sabre fencing, the director controls all action, and his word is final.

Marion heatedly protested the loss in vain, holding up the match for nearly five minutes. Valenzuela himself smouldered with impotent anger at the bizarre turn of events.

"It really gets you down to do a nice action well, only to have it go the other? way," he said.

Valenzuela's loss epitomized the Crimson plight in the first round, as the foil team also dropped two out of three. The epee team, led by captain Geza Tatrallyay and junior Ken Bartels, singlehandedly saved the round for Harvard. The epee men swept to three victories and were the sole reason for the alight Crimson lead going into the second phase of the match.

Harvard, spurred on by the Valenzuela controversy, stormed back in round two to take six of nine events. The sabre team thwarted in the first round, swept all three bouts, and the epee team continued its Impressive performance by taking two more wins.

In round two Dave Fichter won again in foil, but he was the sole Crimson victor in that event for the second straight round. Fichter's overall performance was one of the highlights of the match. He won two of three bouts, and his only loss (third round) came after he had taken a 3-1 lead.

Harvard's comeback continued into the final round. Valenzuela and Ruttledge triumphed in sabre. In the first epee bout, Ken Bartels picked up a win, the Crimson's 14th, to assure a Harvard team victory.

From there the action declined steadily downhill. Harvard dropped the last five bouts, allowing Princeton to reduce the final margin the victory.

Bartels and Ruttledge were outstanding all afternoon, wianing three bouts each. Valenzuela, Tatrallyay, and Fichter each chipped in with two wins in strong supporting roles.

Marion, while thankful for the win, was disappointed by the team's last round performance. "I expected a victory, but I expected a much better performance. We should not loss the last five bouts in a row," he said.