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The good times continue to roll for the Judges. 
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The men's and women's fencing squads made a statement against their Division I foes at the Eric Sollee Invitational on Sunday, securing four and three victories respectively. 
The impressive result followed a collective eight-win performance at the second Northeast Fencing conference Meet at Brown University on Jan. 26. 
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Men's ?(c)p?(c)eist Michael Zook '13 noted that the squads fought well and displayed great persistence, especially against top squads such as No. 8 Duke University and No. 9 University of Pennsylvania.
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"We definitely won all the matches we should have and even dominated some of them," he said. "It was a hard-fought effort against Penn and Duke, and of course, I don't think anyone feels bad about that. Overall, the day was a good success."
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The Judges looked to channel their momentum into a heated first-round bout against the Stevens Institute of Technology. 
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The men's saberists started on the right foot with an 8-1 victory. ?ap?(c)eists Zook and Ari Feingiersch '16 then earned another two wins to continue the successful campaign. It appeared that the Judges were well on their way to a seismic victory that would set the tone for the rest of the day's bouts. 
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However, the rest of the journey proved to be quite formidable. While the ?(c)p?(c)eists and foilists struggled in defeats to Stevens, the men prevailed by a 16-11 margin. 
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Foilist Caroline Mattos '16 reeled off four successful bouts in a 6-3 victory over Stevens, but from here, the women lost the momentum in a 16-11 loss to the Ducks. 
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Brandeis proceeded to encounter a much more imposing challenge, then squaring off against top-ranked Duke. While the men and women ultimately failed to procure a win, losing by 15-12 and 20-17 margins, respectively, several individual fencers turned in strong performances. Saberist Jess Ochs-Willard '15, foilist Julian Cardillo '14 and ?(c)p?(c)eist Zoe Messinger '13 each earned two crucial victories against the Blue Devils, which proved a good measuring stick which the Judges were able to measure their progress.
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The Judges sought revenge on New York University. And they were able to extract the justice that they sought, defeating their University Athletic Association rival by 17-10 and 15-12 margins.
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Messinger and foilist Noah Berman '15 defended their UAA honors from the previous week with match-clinching bouts. Mattos earned another three victories while the men's saber squad cruised to an 8-1 victory, earning seven straight individual wins.
The men continued to gain steam, defeating Haverford College by an 11-point margin. 
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?ap?(c)eists Harry Kaufer '13 and Justin Kwon '16 recorded three wins en route to an 8-1 victory. Saberists Adam Mandel '15 and Ochs-Willard also paved the way for an imposing 7-2 win. These two scores contributed to an impressive 19-8 victory.
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Mattos and Messinger each contributed three victories en route to a 17-10 defeat of Haverford.
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Meanwhile, the Judges breezed past Yeshiva University with an imposing 51 victories, conceding a mere four points in the process.
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Brandeis looked to make the finishing blow in a duel against the premier UPenn squad. However, the Judges still had work to do. While the women's foilists and ?(c)p?(c)eists contributed a total of three victories, the saberists gave the Quakers a run for their money. 
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Messinger and Emmily Smith '13 displayed their experience, closing to within one point of UPenn. Ultimately, though, Brandeis could not complete the comeback, losing by a tight 5-4 margin in the closing hours of the tournament.
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Berman, Cardillo and foilist Ethan Levy '15 each earned two victories against the Quakers, but from there, the Judges' weapons could not pierce UPenn's seemingly impenetrable armor.
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Zook noted that this experience against Division I opponents would prove to be crucial in future meets, especially against key opponents in the Beanpot Tournament such as Boston College and Harvard University. 
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"We have shown we can definitely pull weight against our Division I opponents," he said. 
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"It's a smaller sport, and with a lot of experience, you learn from quite a variation of skill levels."
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The women will next travel to the New Jersey Institute of Technology this Saturday to square off against the hosts, Stevens, Temple University and Fairleigh Dickinson University. 
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Both squads will join together to compete in the Beanpot Tournament on Feb. 12, hosted at Boston College.
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Zook concluded with a belief that the Judges have the requisite skill to succeed against their regional foes.
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"It would be great to have a strong performance at the Beanpot," he said. "If we can take out BC and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and give Harvard a good fight, that'd be wonderful. We've certainly got the talent."