Brandeis fencing finds five competitiors in top four at the Big One Tournament

Brandeis fencing finds five competitiors in top four at the Big One Tournament

The Brandeis fencing team had a successful day on Saturday at the Big One Tournament, hosted by Smith College.

On the men's side, four fencers medaled. Senior Adam Austin (Dix Hills, N.Y./Commack) and junior Alex Powell (Upper Montclair, N.J./Montclair) both took gold, while senior Jon Rollock (Gilford, N.H./Gilford) and rookie Julian Cardillo (Medford, Mass./St. Johns) took the bronze medal home.

Austin went undefeated in pool play in the saber, going 6-0, and was seeded third into the direct elimination. In the quarterfinals, he had to fence against teammate Rollock, who was also undefeated after pool play and seeded second. In a close bout, Austin defeated Rollock 15-10.

Alex Powell went 5-1 in pool in the epee competition, and was ranked eighth afterwards. During the direct elimination round, Powell had to fence fellow teammates Harry Kaufer (Newton, Mass./Newton South) in the round of 32, and Tucker Robinson-Neff (Gloucester, Mass./St. John's Prep) in the round of 16. In the gold medal bout, he and his opponent, Jackson Crane from MIT, went into overtime. With less than a minute on the clock, Powell clinched the bout at 12-11.

Rookie Julian Cardillo (Medford, Mass./St. Johns) went 6-0 in the first round of foil action, and was rated second after pools. In the semifinal round of direct elimination, Cardillo fenced a difficult bout against Ethan Paterson from Sacred Heart University, and was defeated with a close score in overtime, 14-15.

On the women's side, sophomore Vikki Nunley (Glen Gardner, N.J./Voorhees) earned bronze medal honors in foil action. She went undefeated in pool play at 6-0, allowing just six touches against in her six bouts to claim the sixth seed in tournament action. In the first two rounds, she dominated opponents from MIT and Wellesley, 15-4, She knocked off the third  seed, Allison Chew of Mount Holyoke in the quarterfinals, 11-10, before bowing in the semis to the eventual champion, Katherine Hawrot of Brown, 15-11.

Vikki Nunley and Adam Austin were awarded University Athletic Association fencing Athlete of the Week honors for their performances this weekend.