SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Brandeis University junior sabre fencer Maggie Shealy of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, claimed second-team All-America honors today with an eighth-place finish at the 2022 NCAA National Collegiate Fencing Championships at the University of Notre Dame.
Shealy finished with a record of 14 wins and nine losses. After starting 12-3 on the first day of action, she went 1-3 in both the fourth and fifth round of action held today. Shealy earned wins on the final day against opponents from St. John's University and Ohio State University. Her losses came to fencers from Harvard, Columbia, Princeton and OSU. Shealy was just one touch away from victory in four of her six losses, dropping them by 5-4 scores.
"Maggie had an incredible showing," said Brandeis head fencing coach Jennie Salmon. "We are so proud of her. She has been preparing for this for the past two years after Covid cancelled the 2020 event. She was determined to leave it all on the strip and never let down. After roaring through Day One, she reset to face among her toughest opponents on Day Two. To grab two more victories and be within one touch of victory in four more of her bouts solidified that she is a force to be reckoned with."
By finishing in the top 12 of the standings, Shealy earns national All-America honors for the second time. In 2020, all NCAA qualifiers were honored when they were unable to participate after the championships were cancelled due to COVID-19.
Shealy's eighth-place finish is just the fifth top-10 finish for a Brandeis woman at the NCAA Fencing Championships, while her 14 wins were the third-most ever by a Judge on the women's side. Hers is the highest finish ever for a Brandeis women's sabre fencer, surpassing Tracy Marien '03's 10th-place finish in 2003. Only Hall of Fame foil fencer Kristen Foellmer '96, who finished third twice and fifth once, has had better finishes at NCAAs.
With the 14 points scored by Shealy at the championships, the Judges are in 15th place after the end of the women's competition. They are ranked top among Division III schools and third among New England schools, trailing only Harvard and Yale. The men's competition starts tomorrow when Brandeis will be represented by first-year sabre fencer Tony Escueta of Grand Prairie, Texas.
