COLUMBUS, Ohio – Brandeis University sophomore foil fencer Caroline Mattos (Cumberland, R.I./LaSalle Acad.) earned her team four points on the first two days of action at the NCAA National Collegiate Fencing Championships at the Ohio State University.

Mattos went 4-19 overall against the best fencers from NCAA Division I, II and III, surpassing her win total from the 2013 NCAA championships by one. She tied with three other fencers in the field with four wins, but placed 24th overall based on touch differential.

On the second day of action, Mattos lost her first four matches of the day to opponents from Princeton, Temple and Wayne State. Her closest match was a 5-4 defeat at the hands of Ambika Singh of Princeton, who finished in ninth place.

In the final round, Mattos picked up her fourth win, a strong 5-1 showing over Cassidy Seidl of Pennsylvania. She also suffered losses to another UPenn fencer and two from Penn State. 

After dropping her first five matches in the first round of action, Mattos pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament by handing Notre Dame fencer Lee Kiefer a 5-2 defeat. Kiefer, went on to successfully defend her NCAA championship. A 2012 Olympian, Kiefer suffered only one other loss on the day and four overall in the tournament. Kiefer finished first in pool play and reached the finals of the tournament. She faced her teammate, Madison Zeiss, in the finals - both were in the group of four with Mattos for the week, along with Kiefer's sister Lee. 

Mattos went 1-3 in both rounds two and three. In the second round, Mattos scored the final two points of the match to defeat Mary McElwee of Air Force, 5-3. In the final round of four, her victory came against long-time friend Kathryn Hawrot of Brown University, also a Rhode Island native. Mattos jumped out to a 4-2 lead before Hawrot tied the match, but the Brandeis fencer got in the final touch for a 5-4 victory.

Brandeis was in 21st place in the team standings at the end of women's action with four points. In addition to Mattos, the Judges will have two fencers competing in the men's competition later in the week: junior sabre fencer Adam Mandel (White Plains, N.Y./The Masters School) and junior foil fencer Noah Berman (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto).

NCAA NATIONAL COLLEGIATE FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

CAROLINE MATTOS DAY ONE RESULTS
Vs. Angelica Gangemi, Cornell: L, 1-5
Vs. Jennifer Yamin, Northwestern: L, 0-5
Vs. Mona Saito, Ohio State: L, 4-5
Vs. Alanna Goldie, Ohio State; L, 2-5
Vs. Alex Kiefer, Harvard: L, 1-5
Vs. Lee Kiefer, Notre Dame: W, 5-2
Vs. Madison Zeiss, Notre Dame: L, 0-5
Vs. Jackie Dubrovich, Columbia: L, 0-5
Vs. Sara Taffel, Columbia: L, 3-5
Vs. Kathryn Hawrot, Brown: W, 5-4
Vs. Irene Spezzamonte, St. John's: L, 3-5
Vs. Marta Hausman, St. John's: L, 1-5
Vs. Mary McElwee, Air Force: W, 5-2
Vs. Madeleine Giradot, Air Force: L, 0-5

CAROLINE MATTOS DAY TWO RESULTS

vs. Fatima Largaespada, Temple: L, 2-5
vs. Zuzanna Sobczak, Wayne State: L, 2-5
vs. Sharon Gao, Princeton: L, 2-5
vs. Ambika Singh, Princeton: L, 4-5
vs. Clarisse Luminet, Penn State: L, 0-5
vs. Alina Antokhina, Penn State: L, 2-5
vs. Cassidy Seidl, Pennsylvania: W, 5-1
vs. Luona Wang, Pennsylvania: L, 1-5 

TEAM SCORES, DAY 2