After a rough start to the fencing season, the Judges traveled to Brown University to attend the Northeast Fencing Conference. The men’s team played seven matches and won four of them, improving their record to 6-10. Meanwhile, the women’s team won five out of their 11 matches, bringing their record to 6-15. 

The men’s team was able to pick up wins against Wagner, Vassar, Sacred Heart and Wheaton. They lost their matches against Boston College, MIT and Wayne State. Matthew Chaves ’27 was the best performer for the men’s team, earning a 12-6 record and at least one win in all six of his matches. Alex Piwowar ’27 won 11 of his 20 matches, including going 3-0 against both Vassar and Wheaton. Mark Shamis ’25 went 8-6. Tony Escueta ’25 went 10-4, with a 3-0 record in his matches against Wagner, MIT and Sacred Heart. Jacob Lee ’28 had six wins. 

The women’s team won their matches against Wagner, Vassar, Sacred Heart, Wayne State and Wheaton. They lost against Boston College, MIT, Tufts, Denison, Brown and Wellesley. Kat Xikes ‘26 had the best record of any Judges fencer, going 24-4, with wins in all 10 of her matches including 3-0 wins against Vassar, BC, Brown and Wellesley. Kayla Turnof ’25 also had wins in all 10 matches, finishing the event with an 18-10 record. Bronwyn Rothman-Hall ’25 and Vera Witte ’27 each recorded 10 wins, including a 3-0 sweep. Hannah Du ’26 had nine wins. 

The saber squads continued to perform the best for the Judges, with men’s saber going 5-2 and women’s saber earning an impressive 9-2 record. The women’s foil squad was the only other squad to have a winning record at the event, going 6-5. Men’s foil had three wins. Both men’s and women’s epee were only able to win two of their matches.

The Judges will host the Brandeis Invitational on Dec. 8 as they look to improve their poor record on the season. The event will begin at nine a.m. and can be livestreamed on the Brandeis Judges website.