This season, the fencing team has had many fierce competitors, and the Judges have held their own against them all. So far, the team has been to the Northeast All-Collegiate Invitational in Northampton, Massachusetts, the Northeast Conference Meet in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Brandeis Invitational. The team has led a successful season and conquered many of their opponents.

Fall Collegiate Invitational 

The Fall Collegiate Invitational started off the Judges’ season. In this meet, captains Ian Quin ’20, and Joanne Carminucci ’19 defended their previously earned titles. Back on Oct. 28, Quin had successfully defended  his foil title at the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference Fall Invitational. Quin was among the ten undefeated fencers in the competition. In the men’s foil, Tristan Barca-Hall ’21 placed sixth overall, and David Hui ’22 ranked ninth in the meet. The next Brandeis competitors to place included Jared Sugarman ’21, who placed 13th in the meet, followed by Sam Chestna ’20 at 19th, Ryan Tsai ’22 at 22nd and Trevor Filseth ’20 at 29th, out of a total of 79 competitors. 

On the women’s side, Carminucci acquired the fourth seed in the direct elimination tournament after being 5–0 with only four touches in the preliminary rounds. The Judges had one more foil medalist, Jessica Gets ’20, in third. The rest of the Judges followed with Renee Pite ’19 in seventh place, Hannah Mui ’22 in 11th place and Wendy Mao ’21 in 31st place. 

Northeast Fencing Conference

On Saturday Nov. 17, the men foiled their opponents in the Northeast Fencing Conference. In the epee division, Chris Armstrong ’20 led the team with a total of 10–3. In addition, Armstrong obtained an impressive winning record in four out of five of his matches. Additionally, Holtman won all eight of his matches of the day, giving him the top winning percentage of the team. Just behind him was Lin, with a record of 6–0. Both Charlie Catino ’20 and Leon Rotenstein ’19 went 7–1. The foil was led by Quin who went 6–3, followed by Filseth and Sugarman, both of whom posted five total wins.

Brandeis Invitational

In this home meet, the Judges finished the day with defeat. The men’s team ended with a score of 2–3 for the day, causing their record to drop to 7–3, overall. On the other hand, the women’s team ended with a 0–5 record for the day, losing all five of their matches. The Judges lost to Saint John's University by a score of 20–7, Cornell University by a score of 18–9, Yale University by a score of 18–9, University of Incarnate Word by a score of 16–11 and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill by a score of 23–4. The team’s record dropped to 6-6 this season. 

In an interview with Dakota Levy ’20, Levy told the Justice, “The whole team has already improved so much from the start of the season, and if we continue putting in the hard work, I am sure that we will achieve great results in our conference.” Looking ahead, the Judges will face talented competition, but by working together, they will continue to unite as a team to reach for their goals.

In an interview with captain Joanne Carminucci, she stated, "We're all here to push ourselves as athletes and to work hard, and we're hoping that shows throughout the season. We'd love to see good results in our conference, where we've historically done very well." Carminucci also told the Justice, "I've been really impressed with the dedication and work everyone has put in so far, and it definitely showed at Smith College last month. Just being completely present and enthusiastic at practices breeds a strong work ethic and helps everyone grow as fencers, and that really comes through in competition."

The fencing team looks forward to many more sucessful matches  and invitationals this season.