Two fencers looking for redemption stole the show for the Brandeis men's and women's fencing teams at the NCAA Northeast Regionals at Harvard University Sunday, as Jeremy Simpson '06 and Eugene Vortsman '08 qualified for the NCAA Championships to take place in Houston, Texas on March 16-19, with fourth and fifth place overall finishes in the men's saber and men's foil events, respectively. For Simpson, it was a Cinderella ending to his senior season, as he took the 11th overall seed all the way to the semifinals, upsetting sixth-seeded Alexander Kruk of Columbia University in the Round of 16 and third-seeded Justin Bernstein of Vassar College in the quarterfinals.

"He's had a good career and this is something he can look back on and be proud of," coach Bill Shipman said.

Simpson's bout against Kruk went down to the wire. Kruk had suffered a foot injury earlier in the day, but fought through the pain, hopping around on one leg at times. After falling behind 9-8 at one point, Simpson fought back to take a 13-11 lead by taking advantage of Kruk's lack of mobility. Kruk had one more run left in him and tied it at 14, but Simpson bore down and slashed Kruk around his back to win the bout.

"I knew that he couldn't move very well, so I had to pull him back and forth and try to make him miss as much as I could," Simpson said."He kept on going to one place in the bout before, because if he went anywhere else he would have been off-balanced, so since I knew he was going to go there, I was able to block him."

Simpson then defeated his good friend Bernstein in the quarterfinals using a tactic he learned through the many bouts they have fought over the years. After falling behind 4-0 early, Simpson fought back to tie the bout at six, and then took the lead with three quick flicks to Bernstein's wrist. After Bernstein fought back to 12-11, Simpson took control with yet another flick on the wrist and won 15-12.

"We've fenced a million times before, so I know his tendencies," Simpson said. "I knew what basic strategy I was going to have against him, and after that, it all fell together."

Simpson nearly continued his run to the finals, but finally ran out of steam. He trailed 7-1 in his semifinal, but rallied to tie the bout at seven. He couldn't keep it going, however, first losing 15-11 before losing the third- place bout to finish in fourth, which was good enough to qualify him to go to Houston.

For Vortsman, qualifying this year erases the pain of last year, when he finished in 10th place by one touch when the top nine qualified. Vorstman put himself in good position by gaining the sixth seed in the tournament, giving him a bye to the round of 16. Then, after jumping ahead early by winning this match, Vortsman zoomed by a familiar foe Gabe Sinkin of New York University, winning the quarterfinal easily 15-2 for his second victory over Sinkin this season. Vortsman's run ended in the semifinals, but his finish was still enough to qualify.

"I'm more level-headed this year," Vortsman said. "Last year, when I was losing a bout, I would fall apart more, but now I have more experience."

"He's a great fighter and a great competitor, and he showed that today," Shipman said.

The rest of the team had some close calls, but ultimately fell short of qualifying for the NCAA championships. Eight different Brandeis fencers finished in the top 15, including Jessica Newhall '09, 12th in women's foil, and J.D. Carroll '09, 15th in men's foil. Newhall came the closest to qualifying, finishing just one spot short, but she said was still happy with her performance on the day.

"It feels really good to finish 12th, especially for a freshman," Newhall said. "It feels really good to know I did so well against such hard competition."

The other top 15 finishes belonged to women's foilist Hannah Rosen '08 (15th), and men's epeists Kai Keller '07 (ninth) and Mike Still '08 (12th). Keller failed to return to the NCAA championships-which he made last year-when he lost a sudden-death match in the quarterfinals after getting touched on his shoe. Still, he also made a run to the quarterfinals, but both he and Keller ultimately failed to qualify because of poor regular season records.

Although only two Brandeis fencers ended up qualifying for the NCAA Championships, the Judges still have a lot to be happy about this season. This year marked the first time both teams won the University Athletic Association championship, and it also was the coming-out party for the men's foil team, which took home top honors at both the Duke Invitational and the New England Championships. Assistant coach Elif Sachs credits both teams' improvement to better depth and players' ability to learn from each other.

"They have all progressed really well because they now have a critical mass of people with different styles that allow them to grow as a team when they're all in the same room together," Sachs said.

Next season should be even better for the Judges. Simpson and women's captain Deb Model '06 will graduate, but every other member returns next season. The men's foil team of Vortsman, Friedman, and Carroll will all return, as does the women's foil team of Newhall, Rosen, and Chantal Dewey '07. Keller will also return to fence the entire season next year, after missing the first semester this year while studying abroad in Hong Kong.

"We have some new people coming in and a lot of people returning, so hopefully we'll continue to get better," Shipman said.