The future does look bright for the Harvard team, which is graduating only six seniors after this season.

Both squads are heavily dominated by talented freshman and sophomore classes, including Vloka, Mills, and Staller. Of the qualifying 12, nine were either freshmen or sophomores, indicating the potential for continued strong showings in the seasons to come.

“We’re poised to do very well in the next few years,” Staller said. “I think getting the experience of this really hard tournament will help everyone move forward.”

A particular boon for the Crimson was the home-field advantage, allowing all team members, their families, and the Harvard community to attend the event and support the athletes.

“I really see the Harvard fencing team as kind of a family,” Vloka said. “Having all of them here able to support me was just amazing.”

The Crimson finished fifth overall in the tournament, falling to Penn State, St. John’s, Notre Dame, and Ohio State. But Harvard was able to defeat conference rival Princeton, which captured the Ivy League crown earlier in the season.

With the promise of talented underclassmen—including a national champion and several All-American athletes—the Crimson fencing team’s fifth-place finish could just be the beginning of the squad’s success in years to come.

—Staff writer B. Marjorie Gullick can be reached at gullick@college.harvard.edu.