Up 3-1 in an early bout at the NCAA Fencing Championships in Houston, things looked bright for Kai Keller '07. Then, with a mere touch, Keller's lead started to slip away as his opponent went on to tie the match at 3-3 to force overtime, where Keller was eventually defeated.

It was one of many missed opportunities as Keller's season ended with a 21st-place finish in the men's pe at the championships.

He finished with a record of 6-16 as the only Brandeis fencer in the competition, and his six points placed the Judges in a tie for 23rd place out of 26 teams at the Championships.

Michal Sobieraj of the University of Notre Dame won the epee, while Ohio State captured first place in the overall team standings.

Keller faced an extremely challenging field loaded with five Olympians. He was plagued by several narrow defeats.

"He wasn't at his best, and when you're not at your best against that kind of competition, it's kind of difficult," Coach Bill Shipman said. "The effort was there and the concentration was there, but he just couldn't put it all together and make it happen."

The second round was particularly frustrating for Keller: He took early leads in several bouts but failed to close out most opponents.

Keller won several late-competition bouts, but he could not overcome his early losses to produce the overall results he hoped for.

"I'm sure he'll rebound and be a leader on our team next season," he said.

Keller fenced for 13 years in Germany before coming to Brandeis, but that experience did not translate into success in Houston.

"Overall I am disappointed," Keller said. "It was a very tough field, but I just wasn't able to make the important touches."

Keller showed the potential to hold his own with anyone in the country against Soren Thompson of Princeton, one of five Olympians at the event. Keller had a lead against Thomposon, but, as in his earlier bout, he let it slip and lost the match.

"I wasn't able to finish off my bouts," Keller said. "Usually, if you get two touches on an opponent you should be able to win the bout, but that just didn't happen for me."

"I think [Keller] has been a foundation for the team," captain Benji Rostoker '05 said. "He's been rock-solid all year long. It's always really exciting to watch him just tear into some people. I think we would would all like to be him one day."

"How I did in the NCAA's is characteristic of how we did overall this season," he said. "We had a lot of ups and a lot of downs. We fenced really well against some schools, but on the same day we would go on to fence poorly against other schools. We have to learn how to be more consistent.