Foil Julian Cardillo '14 was the only member of the either Brandeis fencing squad to qualify for the NCAA Championships after competing in the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY last Sunday.Cardillo, who was named Fencer of the Year in the Northeast Fencing Conference March 1 after posting a record of 24-1 on the year, finished seventh among the 32 foil fencers despite the fact that he came into the day as the ninth seed. To qualify for nationals, a fencer in the Northeast region must finish in the top eight in their weapon category.

"To be able to pull such a great result and be able go to Nationals is pretty unreal," Cardillo said. "I know that Brandeis doesn't have a lot of [first-years] who qualify on a regular basis, so I'm happy to put a spot in history for myself and for Brandeis."

Coach Bill Shipman said that he was pleased with how Cardillo performed against the tough competition he faced from premier fencing schools such as St. John's University and Harvard University, noting that he was aware of Cardillo's realistic chances of qualifying.

"We knew he had a shot at [qualifying for nationals]," Shipman said. "He had a good season and was seeded pretty high. He showed a lot of composure and confidence in his fencing today."

While Cardillo will move on to nationals, which takes place from March 24 to the 27th at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, the eight other men's fencers who qualified for regionals at Vassar concluded their seasons last Sunday.

"We were hopeful a couple seniors would make it [to nationals], but they didn't quite pull it off," Shipman said.

In saber, captain Adam Austin '11 finished 13th out of 34 fencers in the group, concluding his career at Brandeis.

"[Austin] had a pretty good day but didn't quite make the final round," Shipman said. "He had a couple bad breaks. . It was a little disappointing for a guy who worked so hard for 4 years."

While Austin finished 13th, sabers Jon Rollock '11 and Mark Borreliz '14 placed 15th and 28th, respectively.

Épée Alex Powell '12 placed 12th in the épée standings, while Mike Zook '13 recorded a 29th-place finish among the 36 fencers. Harry Kaufer '13, the final épée fencer for the men's team, placed 32nd. Sean Norton '12 also competed in foil with Cardillo, and he finished 31st overall.

Although nobody qualified on the women's squad for nationals, saber Zoe Messinger '13 thought the team performed admirably against their opponents.

"I feel like today we had a very good day," Messinger said. "I feel like all the girls fenced their best. We all pulled through and fenced really strong. Although none of us made it to the NCAAs, I think we fenced strong enough to give the Brandeis team a good [representation] for the end of the year."

On the women's team, épée Leah Mack '14 finished 10th overall among 49 épée fencers, proving to be the best ranking for any women's fencer from Brandeis. Emma Larkin '14 finished 11 spots behind Mack, while Kristin Ha '14 finished 38th overall.

Foil Vikki Nunley '13, an NFC All-Star selection, recorded a 16th-place finish in foil. Hallie Frank '14 was the only other women's fencer to compete in foil, where she finished 32nd overall.

In saber, Messinger and captain/NFC All-Star Anna Hanley '11 placed 17th and 22nd, respectively, out of 38 fencers, while Kayla Cronin '14 finished in 38th.

Overall, Cardillo saw great effort and motivation from everyone on both squads, making for a successful day of fencing.

"The effort was there," Cardillo said. "The cheering was there. We had a lot of motivation, and at the end of the day, everything worked out in a good way for us."

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