Outside of Jarocki, no other Crimson women qualified for the final four of an individual weapon—but senior epéeist Emma Vaggo came close. Sporting a plus-11 indicator and a 14-9 record in pool play, Vaggo was just one win away from earning the fourth and final spot in the next round. Additionally, Vaggo beat eventual championship winner Isis Washington in the five-touch bout first round.
“I’m also very happy for senior Emily Vaggo, who had her highest finish ever coming in sixth, and very close to making the final four,” Brand said.
Notably missing from the final four in the women’s saber competition was Crimson junior Aliya Itzkowitz, who lost to Jarocki in the 2014 final. Despite a positive indicator, Itzkowitz’s 12-11 record in pool play left her out of the final elimination bouts. She finished in 11th place.
On the foil side, two Harvard women fenced in their first NCAA championships. Sophomore Hali Nelson was the Crimson’s highest finisher in the event at 16th, while freshman MacKenzie Lawrence ended her weekend 20th.
MEN’S FENCING
After taking seventh with a 16-7 record at the NCAA Northeast Regional to qualify for the championships, Dershwitz wasted little time in establishing himself as one of the top college saber fencers by earning 22 victories in the pool play round, which was tops for all weapons, both men’s and women’s.
“I started off my first day 7-0, which really set the tone for the second day,” Dershwitz said. “I came into the finals with a good mindset and thinking that I could definitely [win] it because the guy I fenced I [had beaten] earlier.”
However, Dershwitz ran into trouble against the fourth-seeded Valkai, and fell by a 15-11 score.
“I think Eli is a very mature person...I saw him lose his cool, and to some extent it was justified—the refereeing was not good,” Brand said. “He got some bad breaks there, and I think the problem [was] that it got to him…. He started rushing and that was the end.”
Despite the loss, Dershwitz will have many more opportunities to prove himself, both in college and outside of Harvard.
“He’s going to have a great career and moving forward, he’s going to try out for the Olympic team,” Brand said. “I think he has a really good chance of making [the US team].”
Four other Crimson men also competed in the event, with the foil pair of junior Jerry Chang and co-captain Brian Kaneshige finishing in sixth and 10th, respectively. Chang came close to qualifying for the final round, needing just one more win and a slightly better indicator to have made the cut.
Also fencing in the same pool as Dershwitz, junior co-captain Duncan O’Brien finished his season with a 19th place finish. Rounding out the group of five Crimson men in competition, junior Nicolas Simko had nine pool bout wins but a minus-20 indicator.
“[It] is just an extremely long tournament and extremely intense,” Simko said. “Overall it’s going to be great, great knowledge for me next year to come back.”
—Staff writer Caleb Y. Lee can be reached at caleb.lee@thecrimson.com.