The Brandeis fencing squads hosted the Eric Sollee Invitational on Saturday, an annual opportunity for the Judges to showcase their talents throughout their lineup.


As the hosts, the Judges strung together an impressive 9-1 combined record, suffering just one slim 15-12 loss at the hands of the New York University men's team.

The women, meanwhile, blazed through the combined competition of New Jersey Institute of Technology, Stevens Institute of Technology, Haverford College, Hunter College and NYU.

The Judges earned their closest victory, a margin of seven points, against Haverford College.

Except for the loss to NYU, the men were dominant throughout the day as well, scoring over 20 points in every single match.

Additionally, the invitational marked the last home meet for captains Julian Cardillo '14 and Vikki Nunley '14, who each turned in strong days for the Judges.

At the lunch break of the meet, University President Frederick Lawrence made a surprise appearance, honoring the squad's seniors for their work and commitment to the team.

Meanwhile, for the women's squad, foilist Caroline Mattos '16 led the charge, posting an undefeated 11-0 record on the day. Fellow foilist Nunley followed suit, dropping just one single bout of the 11 in which she participated.

Deborah Abiri '16 posted a 10-1 record to lead the saberists while team rookies Ashley Jean '17 and Nina Sayles '17 contributed eight wins apiece.

Epeeists Gwendolyn Mowell '16 and Sonya Glickman '16 had 10 and nine victories respectively, significantly bolstering the squad's overall efforts on the day.

The toughest match of the day for the women, though, was against Haverford, following a third round bye. However, the women managed to escape with a 17-10 victory.

The Judges went 22-5 against NJIT and Hunter and 21-6 against Stevens, proceeding to cap off the day with a 20-7 victory in the unofficial University Athletic Association championship against rival NYU.

Eva Ahmad '16, who added three wins of her own as a substitute, weighed in on the toughest matchup of the day against Haverford.
"Haverford, after our lunch and bye, was a pretty close meet but that was also when the team had friends coming in for support, filling the bleachers," she said.

"All I can say is that for the Haverford meet, we were giving in our all to ease into the NYU meet, which we knew was going to be just as tough, if not tougher."

On the men's side, saberists Adam Mandel '15 and Jess Ochs-Willard '15 posted a combined 19-4 record, with Mandel going an impressive 11-1 and Ochs-Willard going 8-3 on the day.

The foil team, meanwhile, was undefeated on the day, led by the junior tandem of Ethan Levy '15 and Noah Berman '15, who accumulated nine and 10 victories respectively as well.
Ari Feingersch '16 and Tom Hearne '16 each spearheaded the efforts of the epee squads with nine and seven victories.
The men's squad only suffered one loss on the day, suffering a defeat in a match against NYU that came right down to the wire.

At 12-12 against the Violets, Cardillo, who had a very strong showing of his own during the meet, was pitted against NYU senior Christian Vastola. Unfortunately, he was unable to pull out the win.

In the decisive bout, saber Ben Loft '15 could not hold off NYU sophomore Andrew Kelly and the men ultimately fell in the unofficial conference championship.

However, the Judges still maintained a 4-1 record for the tournament with 22-5, 21-6, 21-6 and 20-7 wins against Haverford, Hunter, NJIT and Stevens respectively.

As the last home meet for Nunley and Cardillo, their younger counterparts were more than thrilled to see the seniors recognized for their performances and stalwart dedication to the team.

Hearne was especially proud of Nunley and the effort she put into helping shape the program.

"It made me really happy for Vikki to see her get recognized," he said. "It was well-deserved recognition for all the work she's put into the team. She really bounced back after her year off from the team."

The fencers were pleased with the support provided by the Brandeis students at this distinctive home meet. Foilist Toby Gray '16 in particular, who notched four wins on the day, enjoyed the support of some of the other athletes.

"I think it's nice to see other students come out to show support," Gray commented.

"It was especially nice to see some [members of the] men's soccer [team] show their support."

Both the men and women will travel to Durham, N.C. next weekend to participate in the Duke University Invitational.

The meet will include fencers from Duke, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Temple University's women's team, Johns Hopkins University and the Massachussetts Institute of Technology.