WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University fencing teams had a fine first home performance of the season, winning 11 of their 12 matches today at the first Northeast Fencing Conference tournament of the season. The men were 5-0, while the women went 6-1.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis men, 5-3.
• Brandeis women, 6-4.

TODAY'S RESULTS: MEN

• Def. Sacred Heart, 18-9 (S, 7-2; F, 6-3; E, 5-4)
• Def. UMass, 19-8 (S, 7-2; F, 9-0; E, 3-6)
• Def. New Hampshire, 24-3 (S, 9-0; F, 8-1; E, 7-2)
• Def. Boston U., 22-5 (S, 9-0; F, 9-0; E, 4-5)
• Def. Brown, 17-10 (S, 8-1; F, 1-8; E, 8-1)

TODAY'S RESULTS: WOMEN

• Def. Smith, 25-2 (S, 8-1; F, 8-1; E 7-2)
• Def. Sacred Heart, 21-6 (S, 6-3; F, 9-0; E, 6-3)
• Def. UMass, 24-3 (S, 9-0; F, 8-1; E, 7-2)
• Def. Wellesley, 14-13 (S, 8-1; F, 1-8; E, 5-4)
• Def. UNH, 27-0 (S, 9-0; F, 9-0; E, 9-0)
• Def. Boston U., 25-2 (S, 9-0; F, 9-0; E, 7-2)
• L. Brown, 5-22 (S, 3-6; F, 1-8; E, 1-8)

TEAM HIGHLIGHTS

• The men defeated their lone varsity opponent of the day, Sacred Heart, handily, 18-9, winning all three weapons.  
• The Judges only suffered three squad losses on the men's side, with sabre going 5-0 to improve to 7-1 this season. Foil went 4-1 and epee was 3-2.
• The women were 2-1 against varsity opponents, routing Sacred Heart, 25-2, and edging Wellesy, 14-13, before falling to Brown, 22-5, in their final match of the day.
• The sabre squad and epee squads each went 5-1.

MATCH OF THE DAY: WOMEN VS WELLESLEY

• The most dramatic match of the day featured the women and Wellesley.
• The sabre squad went 8-1 with 3-0 records by senior Maggie Shealy (Chapel Hill, N.C./East Chapel Hill) and first-year Kat Xikes (Chatham, N.J. / Chatham).
• The epee squad won their first five bouts, with sophomore Bronwyn Rothman-Hall (San Francisco, Calif. / Ruth Asawa School of the Arts) going 2-1, but Wellesley won the last four to narrow the gap.
• Foil senior Sammy Shortall (Norwell, Mass. / Norwell) picked up a crucial win. The Blue won the first eight foil bouts, with seven decided by three or four touches. Shortall battled back to win the ninth and final bout, 5-1, to give the Judges the overall win.

INDIVIDUAL STANDOUTS

• Shealy went undefeated on the day at 21-0 in women's sabre, while Xikes was 16-5.
• Sophomore Ellen Zhen (Newton, Mass. / Newton South) faced the Judges' club opponents and went 12-0 for the foil squad, while Shortall and first-year Hannah Du (Winchester, Mass. / Winchester) each posted 10 wins.
• Sophomore Calla Lee (Duluth, Ga. / Lambert) topped the epee squad with 12 wins, while Rothman-Hall and senior Monica Aponte (San Juan, P.R. / St. John'S School) each had 11 wins.
• For the men, sophomore Anthony Rabinkov (Centennial, Colo. / Cherry Creek) topped the Judges with eight wins and an 8-1 record for the sabre squad, including 3-0 against BU and Brown.  Classmate Tony Escueta (Grand Prairie, Texas / Abeka Home School Academy) went 7-1.
• Junior Chaemin Daniel Lee (Jericho, N.Y. / Jericho) had the top undefeated mark of the day, going 7-0 for the foil squad, while senior Jake Hempe (Coram, N.Y. / Newfield) went 7-2.
• Sophomore Ethan Hortelano (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Cary Academy) produced seven wins for the men's epee squad, going 7-5.

UP NEXT

• The Judges are home for their next meet, the Brandeis Invitational, on December 4.