The men's and women's fencing squads competed at the Northeast Conference Meet #2 on Saturday, hosted by Boston College, with the hopes of maintaining a top-three ranking in their conference.

Both teams performed strongly against Vassar College, Dartmouth College, BC and Tufts University. The Judges, in fact, lost only to Brown University men's and women's squads, ranked ninth and 11th in the nation, respectively.

The men's side showed great tenacity and determination, securing wins in four out of their five matches.

The Judges' foil team was particularly impressive, topping Vassar's squad 8-1 and sweeping the Tufts foilists 9-0.

The ?(c)p?(c)e team from Brandeis won 7-2 against BC while narrowly defeating the Tufts squad 5-4. However, the squads dropped decisions to both Dartmouth, 4-5, and Brown, 7-2.
The saberists, meanwhile, secured a series of victories over their opponents. The squad dominated with their weaponry, defeating Dartmouth, 8-1, Vassar, 8-1, and BC, 7-2.

Saberist Adam Mandel '15 approached the competition with a level-headed mentality.

This was incredibly important, according to Mandel, who stressed the need for focus when asked about his fencing against Brown.

"The goal is to win no matter whom we fence," he said. "Coach Shipman once told us, 'You shouldn't fence the name; You should fence the fencer.'"

Mandel also spoke in high regard of his fellow teammates' success.

"I was especially impressed by...[fellow saberist] Jess Ochs-Willard's ['15]...performance," he said. "Jess was fencing very intelligently throughout the entire day, using his mental and physical resources to outmaneuver and outthink the majority of his opponents."

Likewise, the women's squads represented Brandeis well as they challenged and beat most of their fellow Northeast Conference competitors.

The foilists defeated Tufts 9-0, Vassar 7-2 and BC 5-4. The Brandeis team even clinched a 5-4 victory over the Brown foilists.

The ?(c)p?(c)eists, though, were not as triumphant as their foil teammates. The team fell to squads from Brown, BC and Vassar.

The women saberists sliced the competition, gaining victories over five out of the six teams they competed against, most notably winning against Dartmouth 9-0.

Saberist Nina Sayles,'17 proved to be a beneficial addition to the competition, especially impressing Mandel.

"Nina went on the strip with a very positive attitude and executed a variety of smart actions against each of the [BC saberists], giving her three underdog victories," he said.

The women's team earlier in the week played host to the Wellesley College Blue last Wednesday.

Saberists Jaclyn Hammond '17, Deborah Abiri '16 and Sayles led the way for the Judges, each going undefeated on the evening.

The synergetic Brandeis team won their first seven bouts on the evening en route to an 8-1 victory.

The foilists, led by Caroline Mattos '16, Emilia Dwyer '16, and Vikki Nunley '14, each won their first bout.

The Wellesley Blue eagerly fought back, taking the next two out of three bouts for their team to make the score 4-2 by the end of the second round.

Annie Kim '16 played the role of savior for the Judges, successfully winning her first bout and providing Brandeis with its fifth victory.

The ?(c)p?(c)e team, which also had a strong start to the match, could not pull off a final win.

Brandeis will next compete in the Eric Sollee Invitational on Saturday.

The Judges welcome competitors from New York University, Hunter College, Stevens Institute of Technology and Haverford College in a meet that begins at 9 a.m.

-Editor's note: Annie Kim '16 is a staff photographer for the Justice