After a weekend at the second Northeast Fencing Conference meet of the season, the Brandeis Judges finished on a high note with both teams finishing with 4-2 records. The wins received at this meet place Brandeis University in second place on the men’s side, just behind Boston College, and third place on the women’s side, behind both Boston College and Brown University. Each team concluded with an 8-2 and a 9-3 record respectfully, giving them a combined third place standing with a 17-5 record overall.
In the opening round of the tournament, the Judges competed against the Brown University Bears, falling to their opponents by slim margins, with the men’s score being 14-13 overall and the women’s 15-12. Men’s sabre found a 9-0 win, but foil and epee lost 6-3 and 8-1 respectively. Women’s foil had a strong showing with an 8-1 win, but both epee and sabre fell to the Bears in a 7-2 fashion.
The Judges faced their toughest competition against first-place BC, who have been quite successful under new head coach Brendan Doris-Pierce, a Brandeis alum from the class of 2006. The Eagles soared to a combined 18-9 win over Brandeis, with a 9-0 sweep over both epee squads, allowing them to be crowned champions of the meet.
Against Tufts University, both Judges teams earned their wins. In epee, the women swept the Tufts Jumbos while the men won 7-2 against their club team. In sabre and foil, the women fell 5-4 while the men won 7-2 and 9-0 respectively.
Lastly, the Judges met Vassar College in the final round against a varsity squad. The men found easier wins in the sabre and foil categories, seeing scores of 8-1 and 6-3, while having a closer 5-4 match with the epee weapon. For the women, a 7-2 win for the foil allowed them to see a 15-12 win overall. They also won in the sabre category with a score of 5-4, while losing 6-3 in epee.
The Judges clashed against club competitors from the University of Rhode Island and Dartmouth College. Both squads won by large margins, with the men winning 18-9 against both opponents, and the women winning 19-8 against both opponents as well.
On the men’s side, sabre had a perfect record of 6-0, improving their overall record on the season to 46-8. Leon Rotenstein ’19 led this squad with a record of 11-1 across his four matches. It was this performance that led to him receiving University Athletic Association men’s fencing athlete of the week. This is his second time receiving this award this season, making it three times for his career.
For the women, the foil weapon found the most success with a 5-1 record on the weekend, improving their overall record to 42-12. Two Judges were undefeated in this category, with Joanne Carminucci ’19 going 12-0 and Jessica Gets ’20 going 10-0. Carminucci also received the UAA women’s fencing athlete of the week honors, receiving this for the tenth time in her career and her third time this season.
On Tuesday, the women also saw action against Wellesley College in a single opponent meet. The Judges fell to the Blue by scores of 9-0 in sabre and 8-1 in epee, but found a win in the foil category with a 7-2 win spearheaded by Gets and Carminucci.
Both squads will compete this upcoming weekend on Feb. 3 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Eric Sollee Invitational. There they will face their UAA rivals from New York University.
