The Harvard women's fencing team slipped past Wellesley College, 9-7, at the Malkin Athletic Center last night in the squad's first action in over a month.

Although Harvard (4-2 overall, 0-2 Ivies) never trailed, it could not quite put away a scrappy Wellesley squad. The Crimson raced to a 4-0 lead after round one, capturing three of the bouts by convincing 5-1 margins, and snagging the other bout behind a furious rally by freshman Amy Neuhardt.

Neuhardt trailed 2-0 before rallying for three consecutive points to take a 3-2 lead. After trading points with her opponent, Neuhardt snagged the final point for the victory.

Wellesley closed to within one point at the start of round three, and had a chance to tie the match.

However, Neuhardt, sophomore Captain Penelope Papailias and sophomore Kristina Perkin all came through with victories to increase the Harvard lead to three, 8-5. After freshman Michelle Kosch was edged 5-3, Papailias blanked her next foe, 5-0, to clinch the win for Harvard.

"I think it was obvious we were coming off the intercession," said Papailias, who is now 21-3 on the year. "We were just on and off."

Harvard visits Princeton Saturday at Princeton, N.J. One year ago, the foilers battled the Tigers to an 8-8 draw, but were edged by a single touch.