The men and women’s fencing team completed its 2015 to 2016 season on Sunday at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Regional Tournament at Vassar College. Six fencers advanced to the semifinals of the tournament, but  they went no further. 

For the men, the top performance of the day came from foilist Guillermo Narvaez ’18, who finished in 17th place. His score of 3-3 was good enough to propel past the first round and into the semifinals, where he was able to add another key victory. 

Unlike the foil squad, the epee squad had two competitors make the semifinals, epeeists Albert Reiss ’17 and Ari Feingersch ’16. Both men went 3-1 in the first round while competing against fencers from Brown University, New York University and Hunter College. Feingersch went 3-3 in the second round with wins again against Brown and NYU, as well as a victory against Boston College, to move on to the semifinals. 

Reiss had a more difficult time getting there as he finished in a tie for the last spot. Competing against sophomore Avery Vella of Yale University, Reiss edged his foe 5-2 to move onto the semifinals. Feingersch and Reiss struggled in the semifinals, with the two fencers finishing in respectable places of 18th and 20th, respectively. 

The other fencer from the men’s side to make the semifinals was saberist Curtis Wilson ’18. Wilson added three individual victories for the afternoon en route to a 21st-place finish. He defeated opponents from Hunter and Vassar and a saberist from St. John’s University, senior Roman Sydorenko, who was the eventual champion.

For the women’s team, two competitors found their way into the semifinals for their final collegiate fencing events. 

Epeeist Sonya Glickman ’16 advanced to the semifinals easily, just narrowly missing a spot in the finals. She finished a victory away from the finals after defeating opponents from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brown in the semifinals.

 Also trying to extend her collegiate career was foilist Caroline Mattos ’16. Mattos struggled in the second round where she finished with a record of 2-4, with her two victories coming against MIT and Harvard University. She missed out on qualifying for what would have been her third trip to the NCAA Championships. 

While it is disappointing that no Judges qualified for the National Collegiate Championships, it is even more so because of the location of the tournament. This year’s championship will take place at Brandeis itself on March 24 to 27. While they did not have a competitor reach the National Championships, the team did have a successful season. 

Highlights of the year include a third-place finish at the New England Collegiate Championships at Wellesley College on Feb. 20 and an undefeated 5-0 record at the Northeast Conference Meet at Brown on Nov. 21.   

The men will see seven of their members leave the team as seniors, while the women’s side will lose an astounding nine teammates. The rebuilding process will weigh heavily on the first years and their ability to perform next season.