Harvard's saber-swordsmen broke a 9-9 deadlock with three consecutive vitories to open the third round, then the epee and foil teams withstood a determined MIT comeback, as the Crimson humbled their competitors from the trade school down the river, 15-12, at the IAB last evening.

Rob Kaplan had the honor of scoring the decisive 14th match point. He rebounded from a 3-1 deficit to skewer his epee opponent, 5-4, seconds before foilman Dave Hanower concluded his bout victoriously.

Both fencers were under considerable pressure in these final bouts, since MIT victories would have knotted the score at 13, and the Engineers had their star, world epee champion Johan Harmenberg, waiting in the wings for the meet's final battle.

Harmenberg swept his three bouts, displaying an aggressive, yet fabulously controlled, attacking style. "He simply outclasses everyone in this league with his speed and parrying ability." Kaplan said afterwards. "There isn't anyone around who can seriously challenge him."

Mike Bierer matched Harmenberg's epee performance with three sabre victories, while Kaplan, Hanower, Russ Kaphan, and varsity rookie Steve Biddle slashed their way to two wins apiece. Biddle overcame a one-sided thrashing at the hands of Harmenberg in his initial bout to provide crucial points in the second and third rounds.

The Crowd Helped

Russ Kaphan credited the enthusiasm of the highly partisan capacity crowd that jammed the IAB fencing room with a major contribution to the team's performance. "All the clapping and yelling really helped get us psyched for those final bouts," he explained later. "It was good to see so many people showing up, especially considering that this was the first meet."