After his freshman year, Bennett placed sixth at the NCAA Eastern foil championships, the first time a Harvard swordsman had placed in approximately ten years. Last year, he finished second, and he is looking for a victory this time around.

The two top spots at the NCAA tournament in March also appeal to Bennett and if he can attain these two goals, "I'll probably train more seriously and try out for the Olympic trials" to be held in June. The Martini-Rossi international tourney in April will also be a major test for Bennett.

"My shot at the '76 Olympics is not great," Bennett says, "though you never know. I could have a very hot day at the trials. That would mean I've got to be burning." For that to happen, Bennett feels that he will have to stay psyched for the whole tournament and be in superb condition. Even if he has "timing, a good sense of distance and a good hand," he will have to rely primarily on his quickness."

Bennett says that lack of experience will be his major problem. This is "principally because for the past four years I've been in Boston and not fencing at a top level of competition. If you want to become an Olympic fencer you don't go to Harvard."

"What Harvard does, and you see it in the teams, is to create a bunch of individuals who are very well-rounded, yet not particularly good in one specific field. For life this is probably the ideal: trying to balance both your academics and athletics," Bennett philosophizes.

Don't Mature

Bennett realizes that studies do come first, but that one must always make time for other things that provide enjoyment. "People who are solely interested in their studies don't mature as quickly, they don't really get what the Harvard experience is all about," he says. Besides concentrating on a field of study, one should also branch out academically, "take the risk of maybe messing up a few courses and learning something."

Architecture

What about his sports interests and other hobbies such as reading a lot of architecture books? "If I do them now or I do them later, I'll get enjoyment whenever i do them," he says.

And do not count Philippe Bennett, fencing star among many other things, out of the Olympics. The Olympic coach has invited him to train in New York for the 1980 Olympics, and Bennett says, "I'll just keep on shooting at the Olympics until either I really mess up or else I make it."