DURHAM, N.C. – The Brandeis University women's fencing team opened the second day of action at the Duke Invitational with a 14-13 win over the U.S. Air Force Academy, before dropping their next three matches, including another 14-13 loss at the hands of Johns Hopkins, the #1 team in Division III. Brandeis also lost two 22-5 decisions to #5 Duke and #9 Temple.
FULL SCORES
- Brandeis 14, Air Force 13 (Sabre, 7-2; Foil, 2-7; Epee, 5-4)
- Duke 22, Brandeis 5 (Sabre, 3-6; Foil 1-8; Epee, 1-8)
- Johns Hopkins 14, Brandeis 13 (Sabre, 4-5; Foil, 5-4; Epee, 4-5)
- Temple 22, Brandeis 5 (Sabre, 3-6; Foil, 2-7; Epee, 0-9)
TEAM RECORD
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Judges picked up their second-straight 14-13 win on the women's side with their opening victory over Air Force.
- The women's epee squad took a 5-4 win, while the foil squad lost, 7-2, making the score 11-7 in favor of the Falcons headed into sabre action.
- The Judges won five of the first six sabre matches to tie the score at 12-all headed into the final three bouts.
- After first-year Olga Sadova (Swampscott, Mass./Swampscott) won, 5-0, to get Brandeis within one victory, Air Force's Mira Vestel won, 5-1, to bring it down to the last match.
- Graduate student Maggie Shealy (Chapel Hill, N.C./East Chapel Hill) earned a 5-3 decision to give Brandeis the 14-13 victory.
- After suffering a 22-5 loss to #5-ranked Duke, the Judges had another one-point match against Johns Hopkins in which each weapon was decided by one point.
- In foil action, first-year Livvy Oliveira (Swampscott, Mass./Swampscott) and sophomore Hannah Du (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) each went 2-1 to give the Judges a 5-4 win.
- First-year Vera Merrill Witte (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) had two wins for the epee squad, but the Judges dropped that one, 4-5, to send the match to sabre tied at 9-all.
- Once again, it came down to the last three matches, as Shealy won twice and sophomore Kat XIkes (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) won once to tie the match at 12-all.
- Unfortunately, the Blue Jays won the first two matches of the last rotation by identical 5-3 scores, clinching the 14-13 win before Shealy had a second chance to deliver victory, which she would have with a 5-2 win in the last round.
- Against Temple and former coach Jenny Salmon, the Judges got two wins each from Shealy and Du and one from Sadova in their 22-5 loss.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Shealy led the way with a 9-3 record, including 3-0 against Air Force and JHU.
- Du was 6-6 with 2-1 records against Air Force, Johns Hopkins and Temple.
- Xikes and Witte each added five wins.
UP NEXT
- The Judges will next fence at the NEIFC Championships at MIT on February 24th.
