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New York Qualifies Eight Men in Each Weapon for National Junior Championships
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January 21, 1937
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NEW YORK QUALIFIES EIGHT MEN IN EACH WEAPON FOR NATIONAL JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
The "non-divisional" qualifying round for the National Junior Championships held at the New York A.C. on January 14, 19, and 21, sent the following Metropolitan fencers into the finals:
Foil: Ralph Marson and Frank Ingoglia, New York A.C.; Norman Lewis and Theodore Gold, N.Y.U.; Irving Cantor, Fencers Club; Silvio Giolito, Salle Santelli; Nathaniel Lubell, Salle d’Armes Vince; and Larry Laughlin, Columbia.
Epee: John R. Huffman and Pierre Netter, N.Y. A.C.; Philip Wiedel and James Jacobs, Columbia; Winslow Cornett and Alfred Skrobisch, Fencers Club; Emmanuel Ehrlich, Greco Fencing Academy; and Charles Robbins, N.Y.U.
Sabre: Ralph Marson and George Thompson, N.Y. A.C.; Jack Gorlin and Paul Kirschner, N.Y.U.; Edwin Bertsche and John Anspacher, Columbia Rapier Club; Irving Cantor, Fencers Club; and Cornell Wilde, Salle d’Armes Vince.
There were no outstanding, spectacular performances during these elimination tournaments. Ralph Marson and Irving Cantor, qualifiers in both foil and sabre, should finish well up in both fields, with the sabre title, in our opinion, to be decided between them unless there has been tremendous improvement among junior sabremen outside of the New York area.
Norman Lewis and Frank Ingoglia, medalists last year, should both prove strong contenders for the foil title, while John Huffman and Pierre Netter ought to figure among the leaders in epee. Huffman, national 3-weapon champion several times, is still technically of junior ranking in epee, chiefly because he has never before competed in an individual epee tournament, and he is avowedly looking toward the achievement of senior rank in all weapons—one of the very few honors that have eluded his masterly swordsmanship.
Netter, highly favored in both foil and epee, by reason of his victories in the French Lycée championships, was nosed out on touches in the foil by Larry Laughlin after both had finished with 3 wins and 3 losses in the final qualifying pool. Netter, who has a fine style, was beaten 5-4 by Marson in a rough and tumble bout which proved the first step in his undoing. Difficulty with left-handers was apparent in Netter’s fencing, as he fell before Giolito, former Interscholastic champion, 5-3, and Murray Kornfeld of St. John’s, 5-1. In the epee, however, Netter qualified with ease, duplicating his fine performance in the team event.
Giolito’s showing indicated that he can go far in a few years if he is willing to train hard and improve his technique, as he still depends almost entirely upon his natural abilities and often loses bouts by unwarranted overconfidence. Laughlin, on the other hand, while not so richly endowed as Giolito in natural talents, showed fine technique and fenced a number of beautiful bouts, particularly the one with Netter.
Lubell, Vince’s promising left-hander, fenced in good form, losing only to Ted Gold, 1936 junior epee champion, who also looked like a strong contender for the title in foil.
Next to Huffman and Netter in epee, Cornett and Skrobisch were the only "veterans" to qualify, but even the preliminary rounds indicate that the collegians from Columbia and N.Y.U., Jacobs, Wiedel, and Robbins, will have to be reckoned with—particularly Jacobs.
Manny Ehrlich’s qualification was his first important advance in competition; he showed a good general game, but still lacks experience.
In the sabre, Gorlin, winner of last year’s novice, is the newcomer to be watched, as he has already begun to overhaul his teammate from N.Y.U., Kirschner. Cornell Wilde, back in regular competition after a long absence, has not yet fully regained top form, but when he does the rest of the field will have to move fast to keep up with him. Ed Bertsche had a fine record in his pool, largely through his ability to win the close ones, while George Thompson, senior epeeist who was eliminated in the junior foil on touches in the first round, surprised everybody, including himself, by tying for the lead in his qualifying sabre pool.
The elimination of Forest, Columbia’s 1935 Intercollegiate Champion, was the surprise of the sabre event. On the whole, the field in foil was good — certainly the best among the three weapons. The epee field was only fair with at least an even chance that the title will go to one of the divisions. The sabre field was weak, but because there is a general scarcity of good junior sabremen we expect that the title will be won by a non-divisional qualifier.
M. A. de C.
