Weakened by the absence of number one epee man Rob Kaplan, the men's varsity fencing team lost to Columbia 17-10 yesterday at the IAB.

The Crimson fencers dropped all three events on their way to the disappointing defeat. At sabre, the Crimson's strongest area, and foil, the Lions came up with slim 5-4 victories. Harvard, however, had its biggest problem in the epee event, taking only two of nine bouts.

The Crimson stayed in contention until the beginning of the second round, when it dropped two sabre bouts by one-touch margins. Columbia spent the rest of the match widening its lead.

But the match did have three bright spots for the swordsmen. Both senior captain Jim Goldenring at sabre and frisky freshman David Merner at foil, each went 3-0 for the afternoon. Sent in to fence at third epee for the final round, Bill Marshall also provided a highlight, slashing to a 5-2 win.

Concentration

Goldenring cited lack of concentration on the part of the Crimson as the team's biggest trouble. "Especially at sabre, the concentration just wasn't there," he said.

He added that the team sorely missed flu-flattened Rob Kaplan, "who's good for at least two bouts."

The sabre competition for which judges do not use electronic devices as in the other two events, was plagued by interruptions from the Columbia coaches. Goldenring said the absence of usual head judge Gabor Demjen might have affected the outcome.

Mal Touche

The loss, which puts the swordsmen at 0-2 in the Ivies virtually precludes contention for the league title.

However, Goldenring is optimistic about the team's chances in the ECAC championships. "We could easily make the top three in sabre" he said, adding that he also expects the team to do well at foil.