And the Oscar goes to...Brandeis University fencing.
Perhaps the Brandeis men's and women's fencing teams have not had a chance to strut down the red carpet just yet, but both teams have certainly dominated the Northeast fencing circuit in their past two competitions. The men swept the New England Championships held at Tufts on February 21st finishing first of 13 teams, and the women held their own, finishing second of 14 teams, falling only to long-standing rival, MIT.
The men finished first in foil with the help of outstanding play by Benji Rostoker, '05, who won 10 of his 11 bouts for the day. He largely attributes his success to "strong team performance and support," his "ability to combine training in Israel with preparation here at Brandeis," and "an excellent lunch of Sofer sandwiches."
Not only can Andrew Sofer, '07, make a nasty hoagie, but he can fence with the fiercest epee competition this region can offer, as seen by his first place finish in his bracket at the NE Championships. His performance, along with the second place finish by Kai Keller, '07, provided the men with the top seat in the final epee standings.
Captain Keith Allen '04 pulled out a second place victory in sabre, securing the same standing in the final rankings for his weapon. "It was a good highlight of a really good season," said Keller.
The top ranking for the women was a result of stellar play by several of the women fencers. Captain, Alexandra Hochster '04 finished second in foil. Jessica Lewis-Turner, '04, Rae Schindler, '07, and Jordana Barowsky, '06, each ended the tourney with second place seats in their respective epee brackets, subsequently earning the title of top epee squad for the competition. Coach Bill Shipman expected the team to fair well in the championships; however, he acknowledges the fact that MIT continues to challenge our women's team. "MIT has been strong all season, so it would have been an upset if we had beaten them," he said.
The IFA tournament, the oldest collegiate tournament in any sport, held last Saturday at Vassar College showcased 12 of the best Division I teams in the Northeast including Ivy Leagues Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Brown, Columbia, and UPenn. The women earned an eighth place finish with 38 total wins, and men finished fourth, winning nearly half of their bouts for the day. Jeremy Simpson, '06, displayed his expertise in the saber, winning 9 out of 10 bouts in his weapon and finishing fourth individually. "We've been looking for him to do that well, and he put it together," said Coach Shipman. Simpson regards his win a result of strong team performance. "Everyone on the team fenced very well, considering we fenced all Division I teams. Of course the Arnold workout helped to increase our stamina since it was such a long day."
It looks like more "Schwarzenegger training" may be necessary for the upcoming NCAA Regionals at Columbia this weekend. Kai Keller, like Simpson, realizes the toll that a taxing season and intense competition has had on the fencing teams. "It has been a very long season. We have been practicing very hard and had a lot of demanding meets during the last two months. The challenge for the upcoming regionals now is to stay focused and to activate the last reserves everybody has."
60 percent of the Brandeis team has qualified to fence at the regional tournament. Coach Shipman said final preparations will be made this week in practice. "All you can do is have a good time and fence your best."