The Brandeis men's fencing team achieved a historic victory on the road at Yale University last Wednesday, defeating Yale for the first time ever in a 15-12 decision. The women's team, however, did not fare as well in their match against Yale, falling by a score of 21-6, dropping their second straight match to an Ivy League opponent. The women lost by the same score of 21-6 in their previous match on Dec. 8 against Harvard. The men's effort was spearheaded by a 7-2 victory in foil matches, as Benji Rostoker '05 and Eugene Vortsman '08 both went 3-0. Vortsman defeated Yale's Cory Werk, the No. 2 ranked collegiate fencer in the country. The Judges went on to win the saber competition by a score of 5-4, and dropped the epee competition 6-3. The men improved their record to 8-3 with the victory.

The women managed to salvage a 5-4 victory in foil competition despite their overall lopsided defeat, led by a pair of wins from Hannah Rosen '08. However, the women were dominated by Yale's saber and epee squads, losing those events 8-1 and 9-0, respectively. The loss dropped the women's team record to 9-4.

"Yale is a team that had consistently pounded us through the last 20 years," coach Bill Shipman said. "They have always been one of the top 3 or 4 teams in the country; I think our victory shows that now our programs are pretty much equal. Of course, it is always good to beat a Division I team, especially an Ivy League team."

Shipman also emphasized the importance of the men's victory coming on the road. "Yale is a very tough place to fence, with a very small room and a ton of crowd noise," Shipman said. "Keeping the momentum is of utmost importance in a match and an environment like that."

The men's team gained such momentum early winning the first two saber bouts and taking an early lead which they never relinquished. Vortsman's foil victory over all-American Werk, was of particular importance in helping the men gain momentum and an emotional boost for the rest of the match.

"This victory is a huge achievement for us because of Yale's status as a strong fencing school, and a reflection on this year's team's strength," Rostoker said. Rostoker's perfect 3-0 performance against Yale improved his match play record this season to 14-3.

Shipman could not be nearly as jubilant about the women, but he tried to take whatever positive aspects he could out of the lopsided loss.

"We did win foil 5-4, and that is significant because we do have a very young foil team that is improving every bout with more experience," Shipman said.

The women's team has lost five starters from last year's squad, and this year's relative inexperience showed against Yale. The saber team was also severely hurt by the transfer of Christina Morra at the end of last semester, as well Liesse-Marie Slemon's '07 knee injury. Slemon is currently recovering from surgery.

"I hope they see this as not a huge defeat," Deborah Model '06 said. "Yale is a Division I team and we are a very small and inexperienced team this year."

The Judges next head to Wellesley College tomorrow to take on the Blue at 7 p.m. and the team travels to Brown University for the New England Conference on Saturday.

Shipman is looking forward to the men's continued success.

"I feel that we have a chance to beat every team remaining on our schedule," Shipman said. "No one left is out of our reach.