The men are a young team, with Baez the only senior starter.

"The men's team had a slow start this season but has been picking up the pace ever since," Baez said. "With experience we've been getting better and better."

The improvement was evident in the last meet of the regular season, a close loss to Yale.

"It was a closer match this year than it was last year," sophomore Tom Moore said. "We put up a good show."

The women have had a strong season and recorded an impressive IFA showing in spite of unexpected bouts with illness and injury.

Though all four Harvard foilists were invited to the individual round, Katz and Crasson could not compete.

"A lot of members are sick and haven't been able to practice," Katz said. "We're all taking some time off."

But strength in team unity was a recurring theme that helped to carry the fencers through all obstacles.

"We were all cheering for each other," junior Drake Pusey said. "The teams held together very well, and morale was high."

The next step is the NCAA regionals to be held this weekend.

For the men's team, the regional qualifiers are sophomore Tony Greenberg, Chang and Kim for foil; sophomore Andrew Prihodko and Baez for epee; and junior Seth Goldbarg and Scheffler for sabre.

Chan, Crasson and Katz have all qualified for women's foil. The only exception is Danics, who has not fenced in enough matches due to a semester off.