At the Brandeis/Massachusetts Institute of Technology fencing invitational last year, the University of Pennsylvania women's team handed Brandeis a 20-7 loss en route to a 5-0 sweep of the event. This was just one trend that the Brandeis women reversed at Saturday's Eric Sollee Invitational, topping UPenn and four other opponents to go undefeated on the day with a record of 5-0. The Brandeis men finished 1-4 on the day.

The women's team faced its toughest opponent first on Saturday, as it was able to defeat eighth-ranked UPenn, 14-13. The saber and épée squads held it close, each with records of 4-5, allowing foil to take the match with a 6-3 win.

Saber Zoe Messinger '13 and épée Emily Mandel '12 each went 2-1, while foils Vikki Nunley '13 and Emily Levy '12 went 3-0 and 2-1, respectively. Nunley and Levy provided the decisive blows, gaining the team's 13th and 14th wins to break a 12-12 tie.

The second round saw the women facing rival New York University, against whom the Judges posted a 15-12 victory.

In the afternoon, Brandeis finished strong with decisive wins against Haverford College (18-9), the United States Air Force Academy (19-8) and Hunter College (18-9).

The 5-0 sweep came after a winless performance at the team's last home event, the Brandeis Invitational, in December. The team's strong showing at the Northeast Fencing Conference Meet on Jan. 23, where the team went 6-0 to win the NFC crown, may have made the difference.

"Our confidence level was really high," Messinger said, who finished the day at 9-2. "At the last Brandeis Invitational, we didn't do so hot, but [at the NFC Meet] we really pulled it together and we came out strong to be the conference champions, and I think that that confidence really carried through until [Saturday]."

Coach Bill Shipman also emphasized the importance of player mentality, especially against tough opponents UPenn and NYU.

"I think we weren't scared of them," Shipman said. "I think everyone's realized that they're the same level fencers as us, and we just have to execute, and [Brandeis] did a pretty good job of it, especially in foil."

The men couldn't seem to find that confidence, posting a 1-4 record for the Invitational.

The Judges dropped their first four matches, starting with a 17-10 loss to No. 6 Penn and an 18-9 defeat at the hands of NYU, with épée Will Bedor '10 winning all of his matches to help the Judges salvage a 5-4 weapon victory in each.

The men then lost 16-11 decisions to both Haverford and Air Force before finishing strong with a 22-5 defeat of Hunter College.

The high competition at the meet, says Shipman, proved too much for the team to handle, with strong épée squads from many of the opposing teams able to neutralize the Judge's best weapon.

"They didn't fence badly," Shipman said. "Our épée team is strong, but so are a couple other teams. . We did well against them, but 5-4, 4-5, 6-3 was about the best we could pull off. . To win the meets, we needed the dominance in épée, which was hard to come by."

The foil team continued to struggle with an overall record of 13-32, playing a significant role in the Brandeis losses with just five wins in 36 bouts through the first four matches.

"In foil, we're just not confident, and not mentally tough and technically good enough at this moment to beat those teams, so we need some improvement there," said Shipman.

A highlight came for the épée squad, when, against Air Force, it was able to hand three losses to senior Peter French, who is currently ranked fifth in the United States Fencing Association's senior men's épée point standings.

This, saber Adam Austin '11, believes, is a phenomenon he's seen before.

"You play up one guy, you psych yourself up," he said. Then you're ready for that bout." You win that one, could be the best fencer in the country, and you're really proud of yourself, and then you kind of take the other bouts easy, because [you] tell yourself, 'I got my tough bout out of the way.'"

"Yeah, they get jacked up for him I think," Shipman said. "He's been one of the best fencers in his age since he was 14 and 15 years old, so they all know who he is. . So they get a bit little jacked up for him, and he probably gets a little impatient, and that's enough to put them over the top.'"

Last Wednesday, the women's team bested Wellesley College on the road 18-9, with Messinger and foil Vikki Nunley each going a team-best 3-0 in their bouts.

Just like Shipman and Messinger, Austin stresses the importance of player mindset moving forward.

"Confidence is everything. If you're not confident that you can win, you're not going to. It's just as simple as that."

Both teams will next compete Feb. 6 and 7 at the Duke Invitational.