WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University women's fencing team continued its postseason at the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association (NIWFA) championships at Drew University today.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Judges were highlighted by the sabre squad, which claimed bronze despite competing without senior All-American Maggie Shealy (Chapel Hill, N.C./East Chapel Hill). First-year Kat Xikes (Chatham, N.J. / Chatham) and sophomores Calla Lee (Duluth, Ga. / Lambert) and Kayla Turnof (Westfield, N.J. / Kent Place School) posted 35 wins out of their 45 individual bouts.
• In head-to-head competition, the squad won nine head-to-head matches by 3-0 scores, and four others, 2-1. Their only losses came to gold medalists Temple and silver medalists John Hopkins, who finished with 41 and 37 points, respectively.
• The foil squad finished in fifth place out of 16 teams, posting 32 points. The epee squad placed ninth overall with 24 points.
• Five Judges qualified for the individual competition. Xikes and Turnoff just missed the podium, finishing in fifth and sixth place, respectively. Turnof, seeded fifth, defeated her opponent from Haverford, 15-9, in the first round, but fell by the same score to the fourth seed from Wagner College. Xikes was the second seed and won her first round, 15-8, over a Johns Hopkins fencer, but she was upset in the quarters, 15-14, by the 10^th seed from Stevens.
• Epee junior Bronwyn Rothman-Hall (San Francisco, Calif. / Ruth Asawa School of the Arts) was seeded 12^th in her bracket, but she pulled a 15-14 upset over a fencer from Rutgers in the opening round before falling 15-9 to the eventual silver medalist from LIU, 15-9. Rothman Hall finished in eighth place.
• Foil first-year fencer Hannah Du (Winchester, Mass. / Winchester) claimed the fourth seed in her direct elimination bracket, but she suffered a 15-14 upset at the hands of the 13^th seed from Temple. 11^th-seeded sophomore Alex McKee (Nyack, N.Y. / Nyack) dropped a 15-4 decision to the sixth seed from LIU in the first round.

UP NEXT

• The Judges are at Harvard next weekend for the NCAA Regional Championships.