The Brandeis fencing team, fresh off meeting and practicing with Olympian Tim Morehouse '00 the day before, produced three gold medals and three silvers of their own at the 2008 New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference Fall Invitational.
On the women's side, Brandeis had competitors reach the finals
in all three disciplines. Sophomores Anna Hanley
(Medford, Mass.) and Emma Larkin (Montclair, N.J.)
won the saber and epee competitions, while senior Jessica
Newhall (E. Falmouth, Mass.) was runner-up in the foil.
Hanley went undefeated in the meet, going 6-0 in pool play and
defeating her opponents by a combined 25 points to earn the top
seed in the elimination tournament. She then defeated the
tournament's third seed, 15-14, in the finals to earn the win.
Larkin was 5-0 in pool play to earn the fourth seed in the
elimination tournament, winning the title over the 11th seed by a
15-13 score. Newhall also captured the top seed with a 6-0
performance and +28 differential. She won three of her four direct
elimination bouts by at least nine touches and earned a walkover in
another before falling to the third seed from MIT in the finals,
15-8.
The best single weapon performance for the Judges came in the
men's epee, where Brandeis juniors Alex Clos
(Arlington, Mass.) and Will Bedor (Rego Park,
N.Y.) took first and second place. Clos was just 3-3 in pool
competition, but won six straight matches in direct elimination
play, including a 15-13 win over the #3 seed and a 15-13 win over
#4 seed Bedor in the finals. Bedor was undefeated until meeting his
teammate, going 6-0 in pool play and winning his first five direct
elimination matches. Bedor was undefeated until meeting his
teammate, going 6-0 in pool play and winning his first five direct
elimination matches. Senior All-American Will
Friedman (Newton, Mass.) was the runner-up in the foil
competition. Friedman was 5-0 in pool play with a +22 differential,
earning the top seed in the direct-elimination bouts. Until the
finals, his toughest bout was in the first round, when he took a
15-12, decision. Friedman fell to a fencer from Brown, 15-12, in
the championship match.
For their efforts, Bedor, Clos, Hanley and Larkin all claimed UAA
Fencer of the Week honors.