Carrying the momentum from their championship performances at the Brandeis Invitational last week, the newly crowned University Athletic Association champion men's and women's fencing teams shined once again at the Duke University Invitational. Both teams went 4-1 for the weekend in Raleigh, with the men improving their record to 17-6 and the women to 18-8.Victories over the Duke Blue Devils and archrival The Massachusetts Institute of Technology highlighted the men's team's weekend. The women's team began the day with three straight victories, including one over the Tar Heels, but stumbled down the stretch, losing to Duke and the Temple University Owls to finish the day 4-1.

The men's foil team once again propelled the Judges' performance. J.D. Carroll '09, Will Friedman '09 and Eugene Vortsman '08 went undefeated and were awarded the Foil Cup for best foil team at the competition.

"We were the shit today," Vortsman said. "That huge cup that we won will still be there when we come back in 20 years. We're leaving our mark on this program."

Following a defeat to the University of North Carolina, the men's only loss, the épée team redeemed the Judges in a rematch against the MIT team that has defeated Brandeis twice already this season. Brandeis' épéeists jumped ahead early and won handily 15-12.

"It's a testament to this team to bounce right back and beat MIT," men's captain Brendan Doris-Pierce '07 said. "It shows true character on this team."

"We just wanted it more. That's the truth," Vortsman said.

After defeating Johns Hopkins in their first match of the day, the men struggled early against North Carolina and were unable to pull off a comeback, losing 15-12. Early losses by the épée and saber squads put pressure on the foil team and the deficit was too great for the squad to overcome.

"We got way behind in épée and saber, so foil had to try to catch up, which was a difficult proposition," coach Bill Shipman said. "They could not come all the way back."

The Judges followed their victory over MIT with wins against the Blue Devils 16-11 and the Cleveland State University Vikings 21-6. The Judges' épée squad, led by undefeated performances from Kai Keller '07 and Damien Lefheldt '09, dominated the Blue Devils in an event where Duke seemingly had the upper hand. Keller finished the day with seven straight match victories, leading the team over Duke and Cleveland State.

On Saturday, the women's team won its first three bouts in the morning, defeating Johns Hopkins 20-7, North Carolina 15-12 and MIT 16-11. The win over the Tar Heels was punctuated by a bout early in the third round, when Caitlin Kozel '09 easily defeated North Carolina junior épéeist Courtney Krolikoski, a two-time NCAA qualifier in épée, with a commanding five touches to one.

"I was able to pick off her attacks, and she got really frustrated," Kozel said. "I became more confident, and the more touches I got against her, the angrier she was getting, so it got easier and easier. When I beat her, she cried."

The Judges faltered later in the day, losing to the Blue Devils by a single bout, 14-13, and then falling to Temple, 19-8.