“Columbia really thought they had it won,” Lindblom said. “It was a shocking comeback at the end.”
With Columbia leading 13-11, the Crimson needed to sweep the final three bouts to win the meet.
Sophomore Michael Soto, who finished 2-1, and Carter each took their bouts to tie the meet, 13-13, leaving all the pressure on Rose to complete the upset.
“Fencers wait their whole collegiate careers just to be in a bout like that,” Lindbloom said. “And in his first collegiate dual meet, Julian not only gets the opportunity, but he goes and wins it in the toughest meet of the season.”
Rose has fenced in National and World Championships before and claims that the pressure was not anything new.
The Lions’ chances were not helped either when Rose’s opponent, junior Michael Yablon, had three swords fail inspection and was penalized two touches.
“It is pretty outrageous and just incompetent to have three weapons fail inspection in a row,” Lindblom said. “In a college meet, you should never have more than one fail.”
Rose went on to win 5-1, but it is unlikely Yablon could have won even without the two-point penalty.
“I felt really bad for the guy,” Rose said. “He ended up having to just borrow someone else’s sword, and I think it really shook him up. But it was probably a mismatch to begin with.”
Rose is arguably one of the top epee fencers in the United States for his age.
Despite an injury-plagued season as a senior in high school, Rose finished third in the men’s senior epee division of the U.S. Nationals in 2002, placed second at the U-19 Nationals and was one of nine fencers selected to the U.S. U-17 team.
Rose was joined on that team by current teammates Carter and Hagamen. The three young fencers combined for a 7-2 record against Columbia and represent a bright future for Crimson fencing.
Harvard will have a long time to savor the victory, as the Crimson does not return to action until Jan. 25 at the Northeast Fencing Conference meet, hosted by BC.
—Staff writer Timothy Jackson can be reached at jackson2@fas.harvard.edu.