Fencing may not be the most highlighted sport, but as sabreist Zoe Messinger '13 noted, there is only one sport where athletes get to "play with swords."

Hosting the Eric Sollee Invitational last Saturday, the Brandeis fencing squads showed they were quite good at just that.

The men grabbed the University Athletic Association crown, besting opponents such as Haverford College 18-9, Hunter College 25-2, UAA rival New York University 17-10 and Johns Hopkins University 14-1. While the men fell to the No. 7 ranked University of Pennsylvania fencing squad 21-6, they took solace in a victory over their UAA rivals NYU, their first since 2007.

Despite only earning a 1-4 record on the day, the women also fared well in a tournament filled with Division I powerhouses. While defeating Hunter College 19-8, the women would lose to Haverford 16-11, Johns Hopkins 19-8, NYU 20-7 and UPenn 22-5.

Coach Bill Shipman stated that the team is still experiencing growing pains, but they are doing well at making adjustments as the season progresses.

"The women are relatively inexperienced in many weapons, but they're definitely making improvements."

Alex Powell '12 went 11-4 to lead the team, including a thrilling bout to seal the épeéists' win over Johns Hopkins.

In addition to Powell, sabreist Jess Ochs-Willard '15 had helped the men's saber squad to a 7-2 win over Johns Hopkins. His contribution would prove vital, as Hopkins would come back to edge the Judges in foil 5-4.

It also looked to be Brandeis' only victory against the Blue Jays, as Hopkins jumped out to a 5-1 advantage in épeé.

However, Brandeis came through in the clutch. Epeéists Harry Kaufer '13 and Mike Zook '13 sealed key wins to set the stage for Powell to decide the Judges' fate against Hopkins. Powell made no mistake, blanking his opponent 5-0 to give Brandeis' épeéists the win.

Powell was understandably happy with the Judges' victories over NYU and Johns Hopkins, especially from the younger fencers.

"A lot of the younger guys stepped up and had very good days," said Powell. "We lost to Penn, but we hung tough after that. That momentum allowed us to hang tough and beat NYU."

While the women did not prove to be as successful, there were still many quality performances. In the win over Hunter, sabreists Messinger, Emmily Smith '13 and Hallie Frank '14 all went undefeated in their matches, as did épeéists Kristin Ha '14 and Leah Mack '14.

When asked how to best prepare for these Division I matches, Messinger explained that the ideal preparation strategy involves a emotional balance.

"I try to get my team pumped," she said. "We always have pump-up talks together. You have to get excited to a certain point. It's a medium and you have to bring it together.

The Judges will head to North Carolina to the Duke Invitational, hosted by Duke University. While this weekend was a good indicator of where both squads lie relative to the rest of their competition, Shipman always relishes a chance to compete in this tournament.

"[The invitational] is well-run," he said. "We've beaten Duke in North Carolina before, but we're not sure if we can do it this time. Regardless, it will have some good opponents and we look forward to competing."

Powell sent a warning out to the rest of the Judges opponents, saying the men's team's record might not do justice to how close the matches have been.

"None of our matches have been complete blowouts," said Powell. "We have been competing well, and we're starting to come into form."