Foilist Noah Berman '15 entered the semifinals of the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Invitational on Nov. 2 with a chance to make an early statement.

However, Sacred Heart University sophomore foilist Andrew Holmes stood in the way, earning a hard-fought 15-10 victory over Berman and the NEIFC championship.

The two met again this Saturday at the first Northeast Conference Fencing Meet at Brown University.

This time, Berman would not be deterred against a tough foe.

He topped Holmes by a 5-3 margin, a win that served as a fitting symbol for the Judges' success.

The men's squad cruised to four victories, dominating Boston University by a 26-1 margin while also earning 21-6 victories over both University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of New Hampshire. The Judges also prevailed over the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whom they defeated by a 15-12 score.

The team's only loss came-once again-at the hands of Sacred Heart, suffering a 15-12 defeat.

Coach William Shipman mentioned that while the squads came close to victory, a few key shortcomings resulted in defeat.

"It was disappointing that we didn't beat Sacred Heart," he said. "We were strong as epe?(c)s but we didn't quite get it. [They] out-hustled us and our energy levels weren't quite there."
Yet, in spite of the defeat to the Pioneers, he also alluded to the team's consistent successes.

"Overall, we displayed much of the same success," Shipman said. "Saber and epe?(c) showed improvement and men's foil was strong once again."

The women, meanwhile, earned five victories, recording 22 and 21 victories, respectively, against UMass-Amherst and UNH. The Judges also defeated MIT and Wellesley College by 17-10 scores, yet fell just short in a hotly contested 14-13 loss against Sacred Heart.

The younger members of the team, particularly, dominated the day for the women. Saberist Ashley Jean '17 took home 14 victories while fellow saberist Nina Sayles '17 earned victories in nine of her 10 bouts.

The men's saberists, though, stole the show, topping all five of their opponents and featuring four of the top 10 fencers in the weapon category. Yi Liu '16 turned several heads, bursting onto the regional stage with an undefeated record against nine saberists. All-American Adam Mandel '15 sustained his success with an additional nine victories while Jess Ochs-Willard '15 also cruised to an 8-2 record. Ben Loft '15 rounded out the field with a formidable 7-3 mark.

The sophomores also came into their own, surging to the top of the ?(c)p?(c)e category. ?ap?(c)eists Sonya Glickman '16 and Gwen Mowell '16 teamed up for a notable 18 victories. Tom Hearne '16 picked up seven victories to lead the way for the men.

Julian Cardillo '14 earned a team-high 10 victories, outpacing the rest of the field. Len Grazian '17 accumulated seven straight victories. The junior pair of Berman and Ethan Levy '15, meanwhile, combined for an impressive 15 victories as opposed to just six losses.

On the women's end, foilists Vikki Nunley '14 and Caroline Mattos '16 teamed up for 19 wins in 20 matches, including a 6-0 mark against Sacred Heart, widely regarded as one of the best squads in the country. Foilist Emilia Dwyer '16 went the distance in eight of her 11 bouts while foilist Chaya Schapiro '17 cruised to seven straight wins.

The collection of impressive performances at Saturday's meet paved the way for Brandeis to achieve a potentially unprecedented feat. With a victory over Brown, the squads have a chance to earn at least a split of the conference title.

"A win over Brown is absolutely critical," said Shipman.

"We showed good depth, particularly for the women's squads, and from here on in, every bout is going to be important."

The Judges will next compete at the Brandeis Invitational on Dec. 8 against opponents such as Yale University, St. John's University, Columbia University, Sacred Heart, the Air Force Academy and Cornell University. Cornell will send only their women's team to the match.