Traveling to Brown University to compete in the Northeastern Conference Meet against some of the premier teams on the East Coast, the men's and women's fencing teams fought to 2-3 and 5-1 records, respectively.The team faced many of its rival schools, including Boston College, Tufts University, Dartmouth College, Vassar College, Brown and Smith College on the women's side.

The women's squad's 5-1 record earned it a tie for second place with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Northeast Conference, only trailing Vassar.

The women dominated their first match, prevailing over Dartmouth 20-7 before sneaking by both Tufts and Smith with 19-18 wins. The team had close matches against both BC and Brown but were able to avenge the men's team, who lost to them both, with 14-13 victories against the two schools.

The women dropped their last match, a 17-10 loss to Vassar.

"[The women's team] ran out of gas a bit and seemed to tire against a motivated Vassar squad," coach Bill Shipman said.

Shipman added that both teams' struggles may have been due to the winter vacation.

"After such a long break, our guys perhaps were not as competition-ready as we would like," he said.

Overall, the women's team was happy with its results, especially considering the absence of foil fencer Alex Dalrymple '11 and limited return of Emily Levy '12 due to injury concerns.

"We showed good composure and determination, especially in saber, where we are most experienced," Shipman said. "The épées also had a good balanced performance overall."

Saber fencer Anna Hanley '11 performed brilliantly with a 15-1 record, as did Zoe Messinger '13 with a 9-3 mark. Épée fencers Leah Mack '14 and Emma Larkin '11 also turned in solid efforts with 10-6 and 9-5 records, respectively.

Dueling against BC and Brown, the men's team kept both matches competitive but failed to close them out, losing both by margins of 15-12. The team also kept the match close against Vassar but fell in a 17-10 loss.

"Our men fenced close meets but could not close them out," Shipman said. "Foil started slow, only starting to come on later in the day, while épée did not display the consistency we needed, warranting more accuracy and patience."

The team showed flashes of brilliance, cruising past Dartmouth with an 18-9 win and triumphing with a 15-12 win over a formidable Tufts team.

Shipman added that the men's team must work on changing its approach based on oppnents' styles of play.

"[The men's team] needs better adjustment[s] to our opponents' tactics and weaknesses, especially in foil. . Épée needs to display more accuracy and patience," Shipman said.

Captain Adam Austin '11 was the top Brandeis fencer in saber, notching a 7-1 mark. Rookie foil fencer Julian Cardillo '14 also had a strong performance, attaining a perfect 8-0 record in his matches.

"Overall, the effort and enthusiasm was good, and I'm sure we'll continue to improve," Shipman said. The men's fencing team will next compete at the Eric Sollee Invitational at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Sunday, Feb. 6, where it is scheduled to face New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State University, Hunter College, Duke University and Yeshiva University, among several other top schools. The women's fencing squad will host Wellesley College on Jan. 26 and will also attend the Sollee Invitational.

Editor's note: Julian Cardillo '14 is a Sports staff writer for the Justice.