Led by senior Thomas Kolasa, the Crimson demolished the Lions in the sabre, 8-1. The team sealed the win with 5-4 victories in the foil and the epee.

Kolasa, along with senior Alexander Rykjik, captured 10 wins in the sabre throughout the day.

The team however, was unable to find its point through the rest of the tournament, as Harvard fell to four higher-ranked opponents.

Against No. 1 Ohio State, Harvard’s strength in sabre showed through, as the team won, 6-3, but the Crimson couldn’t keep up, falling in epee, 6-3, and foil, 7-2. Similarly, the Crimson beat No. 2 Penn State in sabre, 6-3, but lost epee and foil, both 7-2.

The loss to the Nittany Lions was the biggest of the day, 18-9.

No. 3 Notre Dame blanked Harvard in all three weapons, winning the epee, 7-2, and the sabre and foil, both 5-4.

In the final matchup against the home team, No. 5 St. John’s, the Crimson found itself edged out of a win, 14-13. Harvard just barely topped the Red Storm in the epee, 5-4.

The Crimson narrowly lost both the sabre and foil, 5-4, facing several challenging fencers along the way.

“Kolasa had one of the best days of his life,” O’Brien said. “I thought he fenced incredibly well early in the day. He beat some really tough people against Penn State and Notre Dame.”

Next weekend, both the men’s and women’s teams will host the Ivy League Championships at the Gordon Indoor Track.

The tournament is the only home meet for the team this season.

—Staff writer Cordelia F. Mendez can be reached at cordeliamendez@college.harvard.edu.