Foil Julian Cardillo '14 finished 17th out of 24 foil fencers, while épée Alex Powell '12 placed 23rd in épée at the NCAA Fencing Championships at The Ohio State University last Thursday and Friday. Overall, Brandeis finished 15th out of 24 schools in the men's standings."We're proud of both of them," coach Bill Shipman said. "It was a good effort and a good result to just get in the tournament. It was a good accomplishment."

In the tournament, both Cardillo and Powell fenced against every competitor in their respective weapon classes, including fencers from schools such as Notre Dame University, The Pennsylvania State University and Duke University.

On the first day of the competition, Cardillo, who qualified for the NCAA Championships after finishing seventh in foil at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships on March 13, went 8-6. Three of his wins on the first day came against eventual top-10 finishers, which placed him 10th overall after the first day.

"[Cardillo] started out and fenced a little nervous, but by the middle of the day, he was fencing very well, probably the best he ever has," Shipman said.

Despite Cardillo's success on the first day, he managed only one win in nine matches on the second day. He noted the mental fatigue that settled in on the second day of action.

"The second day was harder," Cardillo said. "A lot of things got in the way. I thought I fenced well, but maybe not as well as I could have. I was nervous because I had the whole 'making All-American' in my head."

Even though Cardillo lost eight of his nine matches, Shipman was pleased with how the first-year maintained his composure.

"[Cardillo] certainly never got down on himself," Shipman said. "He never quit. He stayed mentally tough, and we're proud with that result."

Overall, Cardillo stressed the intensity of the NCAA Championships, which he said he could have handled more appropriately.

"It's just a tough event," he said. "It's hard to adjust because day one, you fence 14 matches, and to wrap your head around fencing nine matches is tough because there is no room for error. It's make or break. Mentally, I don't think I made that adjustment and paid for it in day two."

In épée, Powell, who received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships after placing 12th at the regional championships, finished 3-11 on day one and 3-6 on day two. Although Powell had only six wins over the 2 days, many of his losses were close matches that came down to the wire.

"I had six wins, but over 2 days, I had six or seven losses that came in overtime; by sudden-death pretty much. ... That was disappointing, I guess, but it was also something to take away from the experience, knowing that I was able to compete with everybody and wasn't destroyed or blown out by anybody.

Shipman praised Powell's ability not to lose his focus when he lost matches.

"[Powell] stayed very stable mentally," Shipman said. "He never gave up. He never got down on himself. He never got angry or distracted. He fought hard till the end."

Overall, Powell said that nationals was the most draining meet he has ever competed in, mostly because of the level of competition he faced.

"I had a great experience at Nationals," he said. "It was definitely the most mentally grueling competition I've ever done. It was definitely the highest level of competition in terms of the other individuals that were participating in the tournament."

With the fencing season now over, both Cardillo and Powell have their eyes set out on qualifying for Nationals next year. According to Cardillo, maintaining his consistency will help him toward fencing at the NCAA Championships for a second straight year.

"I was very consistent this year, but I need to keep that up," he said. "I have to keep working. I plan on training over the summer. Fencing is going to be a pretty big part of the offseason."

Powell said that he believes he needs to work hard and stay motivated in his final year at Brandeis.

"I just have to put as much effort as I did this year, be just as motivated and work hard during school practices, as well as outside practices and outside coaching," he said.
Editor's note: Julian Cardillo '14 is a Sports staff writer for the Justice.