After stretching their legs following the 13 hour bus ride to Durham, North Carolina last weekend, the Brandeis University men's and women's fencing teams finished the Duke Invitational with records of 3-2 and 1-4, respectively. The women's saber squad was in top form as they seized the Duke Invitational Saber Cup by tying Duke with 26 points in the individual weapon standings. The top ranking was due in part to stellar play by Meredith Freedman '05. "I am really proud of the Women's Saber team for winning the first place cup. Not only did we have great individual performances, but we have been working well as a unified team," said Freedman.
Exceptional play from first years Liesse-Marie Slemon and Christina Morra helped seal the victory for the women. These young fencers, however, also attribute their success to the team. "Our original goal was to fence our hardest, and it was nice to be recognized for accomplishing that goal. I know Christina and I feel very fortunate, as freshmen, to have the opportunities Brandeis has given us as fencers. We didn't need the cup to tell us we're on a fantastic team," said Slemon. Coach Shipman is trying to swing at least a temporary residence in the Napoli Room for the lovely silver cup.
In team standings, the women opened the action with a 14-13 victory over Johns Hopkins before dueling four very close matches later Saturday afternoon. Brandeis fell to North Carolina 16-11 and dropped their last three games 15-12 against MIT, Duke, and the eventual meet winner, Temple.
In reflecting upon the weekend, Coach Shipman said the saber squad set the pace for a winning tournament, closely followed by a superb weekend by Jessica Lewis-Turner '04 on epee. The foil team performed well, but had trouble against the physically tough competition. "It a different game when you're up against schools that have kids on scholarships," said Coach Bill Shipman. "Temple University is one such school."
The men faced the same physical opponents in their competition. Brandeis had 75 total wins for the weekend to 70 for MIT and 68 for the Blue Devils, earning them a second-place finish based on overall victories for the tournament. The Invitational hosted "a lot of schools who brought quality, close bouts and quality competition," remarked Coach Shipman.
In the first and second rounds of action, Brandeis posted wins over Johns Hopkins (19-8) and North Carolina (18-9). In the following round, the men fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes 16-11. Ohio State is again a school with scholarship funds available for prospective students, and as a result can attract a wide variety of athletes to their program. The OSU men were "a little too physical for our guys," according to Shipman.
The fourth round brought an intense play against MIT, ending in a 14-13 victory for the Beavers. The Judge's strength and endurance was crucial in the final round of the tourney as they bounced back from two consecutive losses to triumph over Duke 14-13. Bouts with the Blue Devils are notoriously taxing for both reputable teams. Wins generally go back and forth between schools; the last competition going to Duke on their home turf.
Brandeis' top weapon squad was the saber, which came in second with 27 victories, including 6-3 over OSU and 7-2 over Johns Hopkins. The epee and foil squads both finished third.
Brandeis faces Harvard in Cambridge on Wednesday. The following weekend four member of the Brandeis Fencing Team will travel to Cleveland, Ohio to duel in the Junior Olympics, the national Under 20 championships. First years, Andrew Sofer, Issac Liberman, Brendan Doris, and Chantal Dewey qualified for this honor to compete among 800 fencers from around the United States last semester.
Both the men's and women's fencing teams have laid the groundwork for a successful season in post-season play. Coach Shipman anticipates being "right there at the top" against BC, MIT, and Brown in the New England Championships. The explanation for the team's accomplishments this season is a lingering question in the minds of Brandeis fans and foes, but perhaps it has something to do with their positive attitudes. First year, Christina Morra offers some insight, "Unlike the men's team, we cannot credit our recent success to Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, we can attribute it to a close women's saber squad, an exceptional team, and great coaches. Although we did quite well against some very tough schools throughout the day, each of us had moments when we struggled. Fortunately, the other members of the squad were able to compensate for our losses and show just how strong a team Brandeis is.