The men's and women's fencings team started conference play off in style, posting 4-1 and 5-1 records, respectively, at the first Northeast Fencing Conference Tournament of the season. Brandeis tied Brown, who hosted the meet, and Sacred Heart for the best record at the tournament. Seniors Julian Cardillo (Medford, Mass./St. John's Prep) and Vikki Nunley (Lebanon, N.J./Voorhees) were named UAA athletes of the week for men's and women's fencing for their efforts.
The men's squad defeated Boston University (26-1), UMass Amherst (21-6), the University of New Hampshire (21-6) and MIT (15-12), losing only to Sacred Heart (12-15). The women were barely edged out by Sacred Heart (13-14), but defeated MIT (17-10), Wellesley (17-10), UMass (22-5), UNH (21-6) and BU (15-12).
The men's sabrists led the way, winning all five of their matchups in convincing fashion. The sabre squad swept BU and UNH, defeated UMass, 8-1, and had 6-3 victories against tough MIT and Sacred Heart squads. Brandeis had four of the top 10 fencers in the weapon, led by sophomore Yi Liu (Beijing, China/Beijing No. 2), who was a perfect 9-for-9. Junior All-American Adam Mandel (White Plains, N.Y./Masters School) had a strong showing as well, going 9-1. Junior Jess Ochs-Willard (Montclair, N.J./Montclair) picked up eight victories in his 10 bouts, while classmate Ben Loft (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) went 7-3.
It was much of the same in men's foil, as Brandeis had four different fencers with at least seven victories. Cardillo was the top foilist, posting a 10-2 record. Junior Noah Berman (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) went 8-2, classmate Ethan Levy (Great Neck, N.Y./Great Neck South) went 7-4, and rookie Len Grazian (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) won all seven of his bouts in his first NFC meet.
Four sophomores paced the men's épée squad. Tom Hearne (Holmdel, N.J./Ranney School) led the way, posting seven wins in 12 bouts. Ari Feingersch (Coral Springs, Fla./J.P. Taravella) had six victories, Justin Kwon (Seoul, Korea/Wasatch, Acad.) had five, and Gino Barillas (Monroe, N.J./Christian Brothers, Acad.) chipped in with four.
Women's foil had a very strong showing, winning at least eight of their nine bouts in all but two head-to-head matchups. Nunley and sophomore Caroline Mattos (Cumberland, R.I./LaSalle Acad.) led the squad, combining for 19 victories in 20 bouts, including a perfect 6-0 against Sacred Heart. Sophomore Emilia Dwyer (New York, N.Y./Hunter) went 8-3, while rookie Chaya Schapiro (Los Angeles, Calif./Lycee de LA) won all seven of her bouts.
Two rookies paced the women's sabre squad, while a pair of sophomores led the épéeists. In sabre, Ashley Jean (Norwood, Mass./Fontbonne Acad.) posted a 14-2 record on the day, while Nina Sayles (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Loomis-Chaffee) lost just once, finishing 9-1. Sophomore Deborah Abiri (Old Westbury, N.Y./North Shore) chipped in with five victories. In épée, Sonya Glickman (Valhalla, N.Y./Valhalla) had 10 wins in 14 bouts, while Gwen Mowell (Wyckoff, N.J./Indian Hills) had eight.
The Judges are off until December 8, when they host the Brandeis Invitational. Yale, St. John's, Columbia, Sacred Heart, Cornell (women only) and the Air Force Academy will all be in attendance.