After an exhaustive season, collegiate fencers from throughout the country have one final chance at the NCAA Fencing Championships to showcase their growth over the course of that year.

Three members of the Judges made the trip to Ohio State University for this year's tournament, two of which were making their second trip in as many years.

Foilists Caroline Mattos '16 and Noah Berman '15, as well as saber Adam Mandel '15, turned in strong performances to carry the Judges to an overall 21st place finish out of the 25 teams that competed at the event.

Berman, Mattos and Mandel all combined for 18 total points, second only to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology among Division III schools. MIT scored 24 points, good for 18th place at the championships, but sent just a pair of fencers to the national tournament.

"They all fenced hard and gave their best effort," said coach Bill Shipman. "There were a lot of teams at our level that were not there so that is a major accomplishment in itself."

The four-day invitational began on the women's side last Friday, allowing Mattos a chance to set the stage for the Judges in her second consecutive trip to the championships.

Although she finished with a 4-19 record overall, the sophomore improved on her win total by one from last year's championships.

Mattos began the tournament slowly, but ultimately ended the first round with one of the biggest upsets of the weekend. After beginning 0-5 on the day, Mattos stepped up against University of Notre Dame sophomore Lee Kiefer, an Olympian and the defending NCAA champion.

Mattos delivered a 5-2 victory over Kiefer to hand the eventual champion one of only three losses on the tournament, paving the way for two other triumphs over Division I fencers.

"[Mattos] did well [against Kiefer], fenced her very well," said Shipman. "She did get a couple breaks, but you do need to go in with some confidence otherwise you have no chance."

Following the lunch break on Friday, Mattos defeated United States Air Force Academy sophomore Mary McElwee and Brown University senior Kathryn Hawrot by 5-3 and 5-4 scores, respectively.

On the second day of women's competition, Mattos was only able to squeak out a 5-1 victory over the University of Pennsylvania freshman Cassidy Seidl before closing out the day with a handful of losses, all to top foil competitors.

Mattos' performance put the Judges in 21st place heading into the men's bouts, and from here, Brandeis garnered a number of wins on the strength of Berman and Mandel.

On the first day of men's competition-the third day overall-Berman stepped up in his first appearance at the national meet with eight wins in 21 bouts.

The junior foilist opened his meet with a statement 5-0 sweep over New York University senior Christian Vastola, his University Athletic Association competitor. Berman also took down Princeton University sophomore Michael Dudey on the third day of the tournament.

"Princeton is very strong and [Dudey] is one of the strongest fencers in the country," said Shipman. "[Berman] is capable of beating that type of fencer all the time, so it's not a big surprise because if they don't bring their best game [Berman] can beat anyone."

On the final day of the Championships, Berman defeated three opponents. Berman took down UPenn junior Jason Chang, New Jersey Institute of Technology freshman David Kong and St. John's University senior Max Blitzer, an All-American who later on finished in 12th place at the championships.

Mandel, while not attaining the same All-American honors he did last year, still posted top results. This year, Mandel posted a 9-12 overall at the championships and finished in 15th place, just one victory and a handful of touches shy of the honor.

In his first bout of the championships, Mandel took down NYU sophomore Andrew Kelley 5-2 before recording five straight touches to defeat UPenn junior Steven Yang by an identical 5-2 score.

During his second day at the Championships, Mandel took down Columbia University sophomore Geoffery Loss by a 5-3 score. Loss, the Northeast Regional Champion, went on to finish the tournament in seventh place. Mandel also added a 5-3 win over Duke University freshman Christopher Monti, an All-American who later finished the championships in eighth place.

"Loss is always very good, and any time you beat someone [of that caliber] it shows that their potential is very high," said Shipman.

The efforts turned in by Berman and Mandel gave Brandeis 18 points for the tournament, resulting in a 21st place finish, identical to last year.

Looking back on the season, Shipman took pride in the teams he coached this year. "The men fenced near their potential all season and had a good season," he said.

"The women might have had a better season considering the youth of the team and it looks good for the future of the team."

As the fencing season draws to a close, the strong development of three fencers at the NCAA Championships was in full display, and coach Shipman's teams have a bright future.