With the championship title of the University Athletic Association conference hanging in the balance, rookie foilist J.D. Carroll '09 found himself one touch away from bringing his men's fencing team to a most improbable victory over visiting New York University. After already going 3-1 at the Brandeis Invitational Sunday and storming back from a 13-9 deficit against NYU with four straight individual wins, the only thing standing between the Judges and the championship was Violets senior captain and first team All-American Gabe Sinkin, the reigning NCAA silver medalist in the foil competition.

"Everyone looked at me and they were like, 'Just have fun with it, it's all or nothing," Carroll said. "I guess it turned out OK."

Moments after the women's team clinched the Invitational championship with a 14-13 win over NYU, Carroll pulled off the day's most remarkable upset, a parry followed by a strike on the left chest to seal the sudden-death victory over Sinkin and the Judges' championship-clinching win over NYU.

Overall, each team finished 4-1 on the day, with the only losses coming from Division I powerhouse Pennsylvania State University.

The upset of NYU marked the men's fencing team's second victory against their rivals after having gone for 15 years without beating them.

"It's very important to set the tone that NYU is very beatable," captain Brendan Doris-Pierce '07 said. "They're not so ahead of us. In fact, we're just on par with them."

With only seconds left on the clock and Sinkin winning 3-2 in the decisive match, Carroll pulled off a touch just three seconds before the clock would have expired to give NYU the championship. With the score tied, a minute of sudden death was allotted, and, with the entire gym watching nervously, Carroll made his winning move midway through the overtime period.

"It was the best comeback ever, and it was the best way, beating [Sinkin] to do it," fellow foilist Eugene Vortsman '08 said.

Vortsman had defeated Sinkin in an earlier round, and Carroll said that win gave him more confidence.

"We knew that he was beatable and that it could be done," Carroll said.

Captain Brendan Doris-Pierce '07 said he was amazed at how much poise the rookie Carroll had.

"Watching [Carroll], it was amazing how much heart he showed on the strip," Doris-Pierce said. "He fenced a fencer with 10 times more competition experience and, in a pressure situation where Sinkin should have the advantage, J.D. pulled it off."

The comeback began with the saber team and continued to the foil squad. Trailing 13-9 in the match, captain Jeremy Simpson '06 came from behind to win his bout 5-4, and Jim Kahler '07 followed with an easy victory in the final saber bout. With the score at 13-11, the pressure now shifted to the foil team, which had to win every bout in the final round to win the UAA. After Will Friedman '09 won his bout handily, Vortsman fell behind 3-1, but fought back for the win, setting the stage for Carroll's victory and the UAA title.

"In the time that I've been here, that's one of the best comebacks I've ever seen," assistant coach Dan Korschun '92 said.

In addition to NYU, the men's team defeated Yeshiva College 26-1, Haverford College 17-10, and Sacred Heart University 21-6 while losing to the Nittany Lions 22-5.

Meanwhile, the women's team took its own UAA crown without the necessity of a dramatic comeback against NYU. Saberist Kirsten Heinz '09 and foilist Jessica Newhall '09 led the way with undefeated records against the Violets.

Foilist Hannah Rosen '08 easily won the clinching bout 5-2, redeeming herself from a crushing loss in the decisive bout of last week's match against the Brown University Bears.

"[Last week] was so upsetting, and now to beat NYU, it's so awesome," Rosen said.

With the victory, the men and women both defeated NYU in the same season for the first time in school history.

"For both the men and women to have won, it feels really good," captain Deb Model '06 said. "[NYU is] going home with sad faces."

Following the NYU victory, both Judges teams lost decisively to Penn State, one of the top programs in the country. Although the score was one-sided, Sachs said the match was more competitive than the score indicated.

"They're one of the best programs in the country, and our kids fenced super-well against them, but they're just better than us right now," Sachs said. "Even though the score seemed really lopsided, the margins to get those scores were small. There weren't easy touches for them."

The Judges' next match is at Duke University for the Duke Invitational on Friday, followed by the New England Championships at Wellesley on Feb. 19.