Junior co-captain Caroline Vloka, shown here in earlier action, dropped just one bout in sabre competition at yesterday’s Sacred Heart Invitational. While Vloka led the women’s team, junior co-captain Valentin Staller dominated on the men’s side, going undefeated in the sabre to lead his squad to its first victory over Penn State in four years. Both the men’s and women’s sides recorded perfect 5-0 records at fencing’s last competition of 2010.

Updated 12/6/10 2:56 p.m.:

Competition can’t get much more intense when you’re facing teams that tout NCAA championship titles.

But that was the challenge faced by the Harvard fencing team this weekend as it took on five squads at the Sacred Heart Invitational in Fairfield, Conn.

The 5-0 victories claimed by the men and women, then, made the challenge look like a breeze.

“It was a really promising start to the season,” co-captain Hao Meng said. “Our coach was really pleased with the results.”

The Crimson squad was the only crew of seven to go undefeated by the end of the dual meets. En route to the victory, the team defeated Sacred Heart, Penn State, North Carolina, NYU, and Vassar—many of which boast top-notch fencers.

Princeton also fenced at the invitational, but Harvard coach Peter Brand made the decision to wait for the Ivy League Championships to face the Ivy foe, according to junior co-captain Valentin Staller.

On the men’s side, the high of the day was no doubt beating the defending NCAA champion Nittany Lions, 14-13.

“We beat them by a very close margin,” Meng explained.

“It was the first time we’ve beaten them in four years,” Staller said. “It was a phenomenal effort from everyone today.”

Part of the phenomenal effort was from none other than Staller himself. Going undefeated on the day, Staller won the final bout to claim the victory for the Crimson in the sabre.

“He was unbelievable,” Meng said. “A lot of fencers were bigger or taller, but he destroyed them. He was on fire all day, and he set an example for the rest of the team with his energy and determination.”

Indeed, Staller’s teammates definitely followed their co-captain’s lead—even without freshman Mike Raynis, an epée fencer currently competing at the Junior World Cup in Finland, the squad dominated its competitors.

Solid performances came in from junior epée James Hawrot, who went 12-3 on the day, and also from freshman foil Lucas Lin and fellow rookie Erik Arzoian in sabre.

The men’s crew also notched another impressive victory by downing the Brewers, 25-2.