The men's and women's fencing teams faced their toughest meet of the year last Sunday and produced positive results at the Eric Sollee Invitational at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. The two squads faced some of the best fencing programs in the nation, including Duke University, Penn State University and rival New York University. Both teams, especially the women, responded strongly to the competition. The women went 3-3, while the men finished 2-4.
The women dropped their first match against a strong University of Pennsylvania side, 21-6 (9-0 in épée, 5-4 in saber, and 7-2 in foil). They did, however, fight hard in a solid start to the day. Saber Alex Turner '11 and foil Vikki Nunley '13 led the team with 2-1 records in this match.
Brandeis easily won its second match against one of the weaker teams, Yeshiva University, 23-4. The Judges went 6-3 in épée, 9-0 in saber and 8-1 in foil.
The third round was perhaps the most impressive match of the day for the women, as the women defeated University Athletic Association rival NYU 15-12 (épée, 7-2; saber, 6-3; foil, 2-7). Épée Leah Mack '12, who went 3-0 against NYU, led the women.
"The women had a really nice win over NYU; it's always good to beat a UAA rival," said coach Bill Shipman.
Despite losing 22-5 (épée, 9-0; saber, 6-3; foil, 7-2) to Penn State in their fourth match, the women continued to impress and battled hard against arguably the best team on the women's side.
"We fenced our best versus Penn State, the best team there. Our saber team did quite well," Shipman said.
Anna Hanley '11 went 3-0 against Penn State to lead the team.
The women easily defeated Hunter College in the fifth round 23-4, going a perfect 9-0 in épée, 6-3 in saber and 8-1 in foil, The team fell to Duke in 23-4 in the sixth and final round, which Shipman said was a hard-fought contest.
"We fought hard today, but especially against Duke," he said. "We were really gassed by the sixth round."
The men's team also fared well on Sunday, winning two of its six matches, and staying competitive throughout. The team had to cope with injuries to épée Harry Kaufer '13, épée Tucker Robinson-Neff '13, and several other fencers who were fighting colds.
"Our men's team was down a bit with injuries, and we were a bit inexperienced," said Shipman.
The squad fell to Penn in its first match 19-8 (épée, 5-4; saber, 7-2; foil, 7-2), but foil Julian Cardillio '14, was an impressive 2-1.
"Julian had a good day overall. He had some good wins against Penn and Penn State," said Shipman.
The men easily handled Yeshiva 23-4 (épée, 6-3; saber, 9-0; foil, 8-1) in their next match, but lost 19-10 (épée, 6-3; saber, 3-6; foil, 8-1) against rival NYU in the third round. Brandeis fell to Penn State 20-7 (épée, 7-2; saber, 5-4; foil, 8-1) in the fourth round but regrouped and defeated Hunter 19-8 (épée, 8-1; saber, 8-1; foil, 3-6). The team's final match against Duke played out similarly for the women, as Brandeis proved to be out of gas and fell 24-3 against a tough Duke squad.
Despite going 2-6, the men showed fortitude against difficult teams.
"The team fought hard today but against really tough opposition," men's épée Mike Zook '13 said. "There was a lot more spirit; kids fought for every point. Everyone was focused, and the strength of schedule was pretty high today."
Shipman added, "the competition was difficult with Penn and Penn State; [they are] always among top teams in the country, top four or five, and so is Duke."The women are next in action at the Steven's Tech Invitational in Hobken, N.J. on Feb. 13, while the men will next compete in the Boston Beanpot Tournament on Feb. 16.

Editor's note: Julian Cardillo '14 is a Sports staff writer for the Justice.