The sabre specialists had a different strategy. "We coaxed them into attacking us, Bertrand said "We tried to think ahead and tried to control what they did,"

"We tried to make them do what we wanted them to do," senior Paul Legutko said.

This gave Harvard the advantage, Bartand indicated.

"It opened them up," Bertrand said. "We used fakes and feints to get touches."

The epee squad also enjoyed a good day.

"Our bouts were fenced a lot better [than in previous meets]," sophomore Paul Baez said. "There was a lot more intensity."

An individual stand-out was men's captain Kwame van Leeuwen, who enjoyed a perfect day against MIT, winning all three of his bouts by a score of 5-0.

The Women

The women were as dominating Saturday as they have been all season. "One thing we've been working on all season is being more aggressive, and we showed it today," Birney said.

The squad fenced this meet with one eye toward the future.

"Today, we built up our confidence, which is important going into Regionals," freshman Sara Crasson said.

Birney cited the incoming freshmen as one of the reasons for the team's success Saturday as well as throughout this season.

"We have three amazing freshmen [Crasson, Brindisi Chan, and Viktoria Danics], and they are the strength of the team," Birney said.

Birney did say the team must improve for the postseason.

"We were a little sloppy [today]," Birney said. "We would have a beautiful attack, then miss, and then get hit."

Nevertheless, Birney wasn't terribly concerned.

"Nothing was wrong with our technique or ability, but we must practice our point control more," she said.

Saturday's competition was the final regular season men's meet of the season. The women complete their regular season this Wednesday at Wellesley.