If the "Big One" is a sign of things to come, this could be a great season for the Brandeis fencing squads. Competing at the 2011 Northeast Intercollegiate Fencing Conference Fall Invitational, a non-conference tournament also known as the Big One, the men's and women's fencing teams earned two silver medals and a bronze to start the season off with a bang.

"We all fought very hard and all fenced very very well," saberist Zoe Messinger '13 said. "We are very proud of how everyone did."

Vikki Nunley '13 earned the team's first silver medal, finishing second in women's foil. The captain went 6-0 in pool play, allowing just a single touch in the six bouts. After five more wins in single elimination, Nunley dropped 15-9 to Brown University sophomore Kathryn Hawrot, an NCAA qualifier.

"[Nunley] fenced really well. It was a great finish for her," épéeist Michael Zook '13 said. "She had a little trouble with the girl in her final match, but overall, it was a terrific day for her."

Hallie Frank '14 finished in 12th for the Judges in foil. Emily Levy '12 grabbed 24th place, while Abigail Hirsch '15 and Jessica Kirshner '15 finished 48th and 51st, respectively, in their first collegiate meet.

Men's foilist Julian Cardillo '14 ran the table in pool play as well, earning the fourth seed in single elimination play. Cardillo rolled through bracket play as well before falling 15-11 to Brown freshman Barrett Weiss in the semifinals. Weiss would go on to defeat Boston College freshman Ryan Prince 15-6 in the finals.

"[Cardillo] was fencing well, but he got knocked out by a kid who was just on fire," Zook said.

Brandeis' top finisher in épée was Kristen Ha '14, who grabbed sixth in the women's competition. Ha won her pool with a 6-0 record and defeated opponents from the University of New Hampshire, the Rutgers State University of New Jersey and the University of Massachusetts Amherst before falling to the eventual champion—Brown junior Cory Abbe—by a 15-10 score.

"Kristen Ha was the real standout of the day," Zook said. "It was her first big result, and she really fenced well."

Leah Mack '14 finished 18th in the event. She won her pool but was upset by 30th-seeded Rutgers junior Camella Bonnick, who finished tied for third in the event. Épeéist Eliza Powell '15 finished 29th.

The men's épéeists disappointed a bit, with Alex Powell '12 finishing 31st after winning the bracket a year ago. The men's captain was knocked out by Massachusetts Institute of Technology sophomore Joey Rafidi, who won the event. Zook was the men's épéeists' top performer, finishing 30th. Nick Gordon '12 finished in 44th place, while Harry Kaufer '13 grabbed 47th.

A young men's saber squad excelled in the meet, with all five competitors finishing in the top third of the bracket. Adam Mandel '15 led the way, earning a second-place finish in his first collegiate competition. Mandel swept his pool and rallied off five straight wins, including the top seed in the bracket, before falling 15-4 to Sacred Heart University senior Marty Williams.

"Adam Mandel was on fire [last Saturday]," Messinger said. "He did very well in pools and, though he was a little bit aggressive at times, he was able to control himself and finished strongly."

Another Brandeis first-year, Jess Ochs-Willard, finished in seventh in the meet. Ochs-Willard won his pool and reached the quarterfinals before being forced to face Mandel. The battle of the Brandeis first-years ended 15-11 in Mandel's favor.

"It was [Mandel] who finished second, but they were both just beating up on kids," Zook said. "It was their first meet of the year coming out of high school, so they both did phenomenally."

Mark Borreliz '14 finished 11th in the event. The sophomore went 6-0 in his pool and won his first two elimination rounds before falling to Vassar College sophomore John Arden. Ben Loft '15 was next for the Judges, finishing in 23rd place.

"[Loft] had to fence [Brown junior] Teddy Weller, who is a really difficult opponent," Messinger said. "Our team usually has a very hard time fencing him but [Loft] kept it under control. For a freshman, I was very impressed."

Ben Schmidt '14 was Brandeis' final saberist, finishing in 26th place.

Messinger led the way on the women's side, finishing tied for 10th place. The junior had an impressive 7-1 record on the meet, but fell to Brown freshman Christine Whalen in quarterfinals. Emmily Smith '13 finished in 17th place after going 6-1 on the day. Sophomores Eunice Ko, Deb Rothbard and Vivian Zeng '14 finished in 51st, 67th and 86th places, respectively.

The team's first conference meet of the season will be in two weeks at University of New Hampshire. Though Zook said that the "Big One" was a good tune-up, he said the team is looking forward to fencing in a conference meet.

"Now is when stuff starts to matter," he said.

Editor's Note: Julian Cardillo '14 is a Justice Sports staff writer.