The Harvard fencing team continued its tradition of success by gaining a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Fencing Championships this past weekend hosted by perennial fencing powerhouse Penn State.

The Crimson used a combination of experienced leadership and strong rookie performances to stay competitive on the largest stage of the season and improve from its 2008 sixth-place finish.

“We are very pleased to have accomplished our highest finish since we won the title in 2006,” Harvard coach Peter Brand said. “It was also quite remarkable that we only sent nine fencers, and we were still able to compete and beat teams like St. John’s, who sent eleven. Doing that was special.”

The men’s fencing squad put Harvard in good position after finishing their portion ranked 10th overall. Co-captain Benjamin Ungar led the men by finishing third overall in the epee and garnering All-American first-team honors, his second All-American nomination. The No. 3 seed Ungar was in first place after the first day but fell to No. 2 seed Slava Zingerman of Wayne State in the semifinals. Ungar also helped extend Harvard’s streak of consecutive seasons with an All-American selection to four.

Freshman Valentin Staller also helped the Crimson by riding nine victories and 78 touches on his way to a 15th place finish in the sabre.

Despite having a young squad, the women’s fencing unit rose to the occasion to help lift the Crimson to its fifth-place finish. As a team, the Crimson finished with 116 victories, only falling short to national champion Penn State (195), Notre Dame (182), Ohio State (166), and Columbia (151).

The women’s unit was led by freshmen Noam Mills and Caroline Vloka, both of whom finished second overall in their respective events. Vloka, the No. 2 seed in the women’s sabre, posted a 20-3 record and amassed 105 touches in the preliminary rounds, but lost 15-4 in the final.

“I’m quite optimistic with world-class players like Vloka and Mills,” Brand said. “We are looking forward to having them play major roles on our squad for the next three years. Noam has continued to develop and is getting better both on the world scene and on our squad. They are both setting their goals for the 2012 Olympic Games, so it will be fortunate to continue to have those forces on our team.”

Mills, a 2008 Olympian with Israel, was the No. 1 seed entering the tournament. She posted a 21-2 record in the first seven rounds, but fell short 15-9 in the women’s epee gold medal match. Both Vloka and Mills were named All-Americans for their efforts.

“I think that Noam was very disappointed to not win her final match, but she is a very determined athlete, and I certainly expect to see her back in the same position next year,” Brand said.

Co-captain Emily Cross, a 2008 Olympic silver medalist with Team USA, won 21 out of 24 matches to qualify for the semifinal in the foil division. Cross lost a gritty 8-7 match to eventual champion Doris Willette of Penn State to finish in third place and earn her third career All-American selection. Cross also represented the fourth Crimson fencer of the tournament to make an event final four, setting a new Harvard fencing record.

“We were very disappointed that Emily didn’t go out on top after coming back from the Olympic games,” Brand said. “Emily is one of the best fencers that Harvard has ever had, and arguably the top fencer for Team USA. It’s amazing that she came back from the Olympic games and continued to fence for us.”

Harvard was also helped by the efforts of freshman Shelby MacLeod, who placed 17th in the foil, and senior Maria Larsson, who gained eight victories in the epee to also place 17th.