The men's and women's fencing squads hoped to continue their success from the Big One Invitational on Nov. 4 with another strong showing at the first Northeast Fencing Conference meet. Brandeis took on teams from the University of New Hampshire, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Boston University, Wellesley College, Sacred Heart University, and the hosts, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Both teams, after attaining 5-1 records at last weekend's meet, provided some pleasant surprises.

The women's foil trio, composed entirely of first-years, proved to be the defining factor for the Judges. Emilia Dwyer '16; Eva Ahmad '16; and last meet's hero, Caroline Mattos '16, showed the poise of seasoned veterans, handily defeating all of their opponents. The three cumulatively had a 46-8 record against opponents. In fact, they allowed just one touch against BU in the third round, and against Wellesley in the fifth round, the foilists conceded merely two touches. Even against Sacred Heart University, one of the best fencing programs in the Northeast, the unit fought tirelessly, notching wins in six out of nine matches. This young group of first-years has utilized its raw talent effectively, and as Dwyer stated, it can be attributed to veteran leadership and chemistry.

"Women's foil is an all-first team, but we greatly appreciated Vikki Nunley's '13 guidance based on ample experience. She was a great sideline coach," said Dwyer. "Women's foil shows a promising outlook. Our results speak for themselves. Most importantly, we're so close, so there is trust that we will support each other on and off the strip."

In its toughest fight against Sacred Heart, Mattos and Dwyer helped carry the squad to victory, combining for a 5-1 record. Foilist Annette Kim '16 made her biggest statement at this meet. She went 6-0 against BU and Wellesley, allowing just one touch in her six matches. She also handily won all of her matches against UNH and MIT.

The entire team consistently followed in Kim's winning ways. The seniors, captain Zoe Messinger '13 and Emmily Smith '13, gave women's sabre the extra push it needed against several opponents. They provided a strong foundation for the performances of sabreists Deborah Abiri '16 and Jessie Kirshner '15. Messinger and Smith were there to lift the sabre crew in matches against Sacred Heart and BU.

The men, however, were equally successful against their opponents. Sabreist Adam Mandel '15 gave the squad several key boosts in vital situations. He went 10-0 in all of his matches, also notching a notable 6-0 mark against SHU. He also attained a 3-0 mark against the MIT sabreists.

Mandel's performance headlined an exciting group of finishes for the sophomore sabreists, including joint successes from Ethan Levy '15, Wonhee Choi '15 and Noah Berman '15. The group went 11-0, and in five of these victories, the sophomores allowed zero touches. Furthermore, the men went 11-2 against UMass while also improving to a 7-1 record against BU.

The Class of 2016, the Class of 2015 and the senior leadership all caused the Brandeis fencing teams to garner much attention. They will next compete at home on Dec. 2, where they will face Yale University, St. John's University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Johns Hopkins University and Cornell University.
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