Brandeis fencing collects six national honors from USFCA

TEXT: USFCA NATIONAL HONOREES: Jennie Salmon, Division III Men's and Women's Coach of the Year; Tony Escueta, Men's Division III Sabre Fencer and Newcomer of the Year; Maggie Shealy, Women's Division III Sabre Fencer of the Year; Alexander Wicken, Community Service Recognition Award
IMAGES: USFCA Shield logo; close-up head shots of Jennie Salmon, Tony Escueta, Maggie Shealy and Alexander Wicken

WALTHAM, Mass. – Four members of the Brandeis University fencing program have earned national honors for the United States Fencing Coaches Association.

The honorees were led by head coach Jennie Salmon, who was named Division III Head Coach of the Year for both the men's and women's teams. Salmon helped Brandeis qualify members of both men's and women's teams for the NCAA National Collegiate Championships for the first time since 2014. The Brandeis women were the top Division III program, finishing 15th overall, while the men were 19th,  and the Judges finished 17th in the combined standings, second among Division III programs. The men finished third in the Northeast Fencing Conference, while the women were seventh after battling injuries throughout their campaign, as the teams combined to place fourth overall. In addition to Salmon, assistant coach Matt Zich was selected as a finalist for Division III Assistant Coach of the Year. Zich was previously named a USAFencing Spirit of Sport honoree in 2020-21.

First-year fencer Tony Escueta of Grand Prairie, Texas, also claimed two awards, as he was named the Division III Sabre Athlete and the Division III Newcomer of the Year. Escueta, who also earned Rookie of the Year honors from the Northeast Fencing Conference, qualified for the NCAA Championships as a first-year, making him the first Judge since 2011 to accomplish that feat. He placed 22nd at the NCAA Championships after placing 11th at the NCAA Northeast Regionals to book his spot at nationals. Escueta led the Brandeis men with 52 victories during the regular season.

Junior Maggie Shealy of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, earned Division III Sabre Athlete of the Year honors. Shealy, who was previously named a National Collegiate and Division III All-American, placed eighth at the NCAA Championships, the highest finish by a Division III Woman. Shealy went 14-9 at the NCAAs to post Brandeis's best-ever finisher in women's sabre. She was 11th at the NCAA Northeast Regional championships and led Brandeis with 81 dual-meet wins during the regular season.

Junior Alexander Wicken of Norwich, Connecticut, received the USFCA's Community Service Recognition Award. Alex is a transgender athlete on the Brandeis Fencing Team. He is a junior Politics major with minors in Social Justice and Social Policy.

Since arriving at Brandeis, he has been a visible and vocal advocate for transgender athletes and community at large as well as the LGBTQIA+ community at Brandeis and well beyond. Over the past year, Alex has spearheaded a collaboration between the Brandeis Athletics department, the Brandeis Gender and Sexuality Center, and the organization, Athlete Ally, to create a Transgender NCAA Athlete Fishbowl conversation with several other current and former transgender student athletes. The event took place on March 31st 2022 as a webinar and was attended by hundreds. https://www.brandeisjudges.com/general/2021-22/releases/20220405gvcuiw.

Alex is also a Community Advisor (equivalent to a Resident Assistant) for the Brandeis Department of Community Living and a Peer Educator for the Brandeis Gender and Sexuality Center. In September of 2021, the Brandeis Athletic Department was the first in the UAA to develop and publish a department Transgender inclusion policy to codify the University and the Department's adoption of inclusive participation practices and demonstrate a commitment to fair play and inclusion. Alex's advocacy and input were an important component of this policy's development. Alex has already had a great impact in leading the inclusion and equitable treatment of any marginalized person within the Brandeis community and the reach of his actions has been well past the Brandeis campus.