The Brandeis fencing team had another strong showing this week at the NCAA Northeast Regional Qualifier at Wellesley College on Sunday. By the end of the day, three Brandeis fencers-Caroline Mattos '16, Adam Mandel '15 and Noah Berman '15-had a likely opportunity to receive three automatic bids for the 2014 NCAA Championships, which will be announced later today.

Mattos starred for the Judges in the foil competition with a very successful day at Wellesley, paving the way for a second-straight bid to the national championship. Her fourth-place finish in foil tied her with Massachusetts Institute of Technology freshman saber Cordelia Avery for the highest finish recorded by a Division III fencer in the women's competition.

Seeded 12th at the beginning of the tournament, Mattos dominated in her opening pool, going 5-1 overall to advance into the round of 21 as the No. 6 seed. She could not find the same dominance in the round of 21, managing a 3-3 record to secure 11th place heading into the finals. In the final round, Mattos ended with an impressive 7-4 showing and finished fourth, missing a medal on a tie-breaker.

"Going into the final pool, I was extremely nervous about qualifying," she remarked. "I knew I couldn't give up because I'd regret it in the long run, so I just tried to get as many touches I could, and it soon became in my favor. I ended up going 7-4 [in the finals] which is my best finish."

After a seventh-place regional finish last year and a bid to the NCAA Championships, Mattos most likely secured her return to the national stage.

The men, meanwhile, look to send multiple fencers to the national championship. Mandel, a saberist, as well as Berman, a foilist, are expected to represent Brandeis.

Mandel started the day with a 5-1 record in his opening sabre pool, and then, replicated this result in the second round. In the finals, Mandel went 7-4, but only finished in fifth due to a touch differential that yielded a 0 indicator, 42-42.

Berman stuck to his seeding throughout the foil event, translating his initial 11 seed with an 11th place finish. His opening round total of 4-2 left him in 14th place, but recovered to secure a spot in the finals.

Even though he struggled in the finals, he managed to hold his initial 11th-place standing.

Berman is likely to receive an automatically secured bid to the tournament. Harvard University had four fencers finish ahead of him and given only two can be selected as competitors from the same school, the junior should have the chance to make his first appearance at the national meet.

Jess Ochs-Willard '15, meanwhile, started the day as the 15th seed and worked his way up to the finals. The first two rounds yielded identical 4-2 results for Ochs-Willard, and while he stumbled in the finals, his 12th place finish was good enough for at-large bid consideration, though he may not make the cut.

"I concentrated on learning my opponents while they fenced their other bouts, and was able to pull off four straight wins in the second round, which guaranteed a berth in the final pool," Ochs-Willard said.

"I held at the forefront the idea that in a first to five bout, anything can happen. I have a strong mental game, and focused on setting up each and every point before it happened."

The bids will be announced later today and all aforementioned fencers except Ochs-Willard are likely to get spots in the tournament.

"I know it's going to be a tough tournament, so I just have to focus on one bout at a time," Mattos said

For Berman, Mandel, Mattos and Ochs-Willard, the season will likely continue for one more weekend. The NCAA Championships will be hosted by Ohio State University from March 20 to 23 in Columbus, Ohio.