After dominating mostly club-level squads at the Northeast Conference Meet Nov. 21, the men's and women's fencing teams were dealt a harsh taste of reality at Sunday's Brandeis Invitational, where the Judges faced Division I powerhouse St. John's University. The Red Storm beat the men's team 19-8 and the women's team 20-7, sweeping all five of its matches in both fields to finish first at the invitational.

But the loss was the men's team's only blemish at the meet, as they finished second place out of seven schools, going 3-1 on the day. The women's team struggled to a 1-4 record, finishing in a tie for sixth place.

"St. John's recruits a lot of really good fencers, and they are one of the nation's top teams" saber Isaac Liberman '07 said. "They're one of those teams that are out of our reach at the moment."

Still, the Red Storm's 11-point victory over the men's fencing team was its narrowest margin of the competition. Foil Will Friedman '09 was the only Brandeis fencer without a loss on the day, winning his only two bouts, including an emotional victory over his longtime rival, Red Storm senior Henry Kennard.

"I was pleased with beating Kennard," Friedman said. "I have been fencing him since I was 14 and he usually beats me."

This time around, Friedman was able to turn the tables and easily dispose of his familiar foe, 5-1.

Foil Hannah Rosen '08 gave a strong performance, going 2-1 in the women's team's loss to St. John's. She was the only fencer on her team with a winning record against the Red Storm.

The men's team was also fenced to wins against Brown University 17-10, Yale University 16-11 and Vassar College 18-9.

Epee Kai Keller '07 paced the men with an 8-1 record, including 3-0 showings against both Yale and Brown.

While the foil team has usually been the backbone of the men's team, Brandeis found itself in an unfamiliar position Sunday, relying on its saber and epee squads to deliver victories. Against Brown, the foil team went just 2-7, while the saber and epee teams combined to go 15-3.

"The foil team had a weak day," Friedman said. "It was nice to see [saber and epee] come out and beat some strong fencers at the invitational."

"The saber team is fencing much better in general, while the epee is deeper and has new blood," Captain Brendan Doris-Pierce '07 said.

"Last year we put a lot of pressure on the foil team to win every bout. They're not the only squad that can win now," added Doris-Pierce, who wields a saber for the Judges.

St. John's wasn't the only Division I opposition that gave the women's team fits Sunday. The Judges also dropped matches against Cornell 18-9, Brown 14-13 and Yale 21-6. Brandeis salvaged its lone victory against last-place Vassar, a Division III program, 17-10.

"I don't think our heads were in the game," saber Jenny Press '09 said. "We expected to beat more teams than we did, and underestimated our opponents."

The narrow loss to Brown was especially tough for the women to stomach.

"[Losing to Brown] was mentally tough," Press said. "We knew we could beat them."

Captain and foil Chantal Dewey '07 and epee Caitlin Kozel '09 both went undefeated in the losing effort against Brown, contributing six of the squad's 13 winning bouts.

The Judges will host one of the strongest fencing teams in the nation, Harvard University, Thursday at 7 p.m.

Doris-Pierce is hopeful that Brandeis can pull off an upset.

"If we have a solid week of practice, our team is deep enough and focused enough to beat Harvard," he said.