1996
Sports Statistics
Record: Women--11-1, 5-1 Ivy Men--5-5, 1-4 Ivy
Ivy Finish: Women--Second Men--Fifth
Coach: Branimir Zivkovic
1997
Women: One Win Away
Fencing at Harvard requires mental toughness of the toughest sort, as participants must endure a season that lasts from late November all the way into April. For the Harvard women's fencing team, it seemed that every month brought new conquests.
The team stormed through its competition in the 1996-97 season, finishing with an 11-1 record overall, including 5-1 in the Ivy League. Most of the season appeared to be a mere tune-up for the fencers, as the first weekend brought romps over MIT, Brown, Tufts and Boston University, with no team even able to come within 10 points of Harvard.
As the women tore into the December stretch, the team rolled on, stretching its record to 7-0 with wins over Brandeis, Columbia and St. John's. Harvard held tight against the latter two, managing key wins at the end of the meets to snare 17-15 and 19-13 wins, respectively.
After taking a break through January for reading period and exams, the fencers returned in early February to resume their hunt for the Ivy League crown. Harvard snagged two key Ivy matches from Cornell and Pennsylvania, again by wide margins.
After a 28-4 romp over Wellesley, Harvard stood at 10-0 overall, 4-0 in the Ivy League. Tied atop the standings was Yale, and the Crimson traveled to face the Eli on February 22.
Harvard dropped its only contest of the year against Yale, a heart-breaking 18-14 decision. Harvard's dual-meet season came to a close the same day with a 26-6 win over Princeton.
The fencers then fared well on the The Crimson racked up numerous individual honors, especially in the Ivy League. Seniors Jill Katz (18-2 Ivy) and Viki Danics took home first team foil honors. Co-captain Mallory Stewart garnered First Team Epee honors, as did Valerie Uzzell. Co-captain Brindisi Chan snared a spot on the Second Team Foil squad as well. Read more in Sports
