COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Brandeis University fencing team had its first large invitational of the season this weekend, competing at the Western Invitational at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The Judges' tournament got off to a frustrating start, especially on the men's side, where they dropped four-straight matches by one point. The Brandeis women earned the team's lone win of the weekend.

RESULTS

MEN Air Force 14, Brandeis 13 Incarnate Word 14, Brandeis 13 UC San Diego 14, Brandeis 13 Stanford 14, Brandeis 13 Columbia 19, Brandeis 8 Ohio State 17, Brandeis 10 Air Force 16, Brandeis 11 UC San Diego 19, Brandeis 9

WOMEN Air Force 14, Brandeis 13 Brandeis 20, Incarnate Word 7 Northwestern 21, Brandeis 6 UC San Diego 23, Brandeis 4 Stanford 22, Brandeis 5 Denison 17, Brandeis 10 Ohio State 23, Brandeis 4 Columbia 17, Brandeis 10 Tufts 18, Brandeis 9

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SQUAD RESULTS

• The Brandeis men's saber squad had a successful trip, going 7-1 in their eight matches, with the lone loss coming by a 5-4 score in a rematch with UC San Diego after defeating the Tritons, 6-3, earlier in the meet.
• Four of the other five Brandeis squads each picked up two wins. Men's foil defeated Incarnate Word and UCSD; women's saber and foil each had wins over Air Force and UIW, while women's epee topped Incarnate Word and Denison.
• Men's epee picked up a 6-3 win over Stanford.

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES

• The men's saber squad led the Judges all weekend, with all three of their main fencers picking up at least one win against every opponent they faced. Senior All-American Lev BenAvram (Bethesda, Md./Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School) had the team's top winning percentage, going 12-1 over the weekend with 3-0 records against Air Force, Stanford and Ohio State. First-year Jude Wilson (Jersey City, N.J./Hudson Catholic) led the squad in wins, going 14-9 with a 3-0 win over Air Force and 2-1 marks against UIW and UCSD twice. Junior Matthew Chaves (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy Upper School) went 12-11, posting 2-1 records against Columbia, UIW and UCSD twice.
• First-year men's foil fencer David Knizhnik (Bethesda, Md./Aeon) had the most wins of any Judge over the weekend with 17 against just 7 losses. Knizhnik earned wins against all eight opponents, including 3-0 against Air Force, Incarnate Word and Ohio State and 2-1 against UCSD twice and Air Force. Junior Jackson Sullivan (Somerville, Mass./Greater Commonwealth Virtual School) had a win against six of eight opponents.
• Sophomore Hunter Yu (Toronto, Ont./Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute) led the men's epee squad with six wins, including 3-0 records against Air Force and Stanford.
• On the women's side, senior saber fencer Kat Xikes (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) had the team's top performance, earning wins in each of her first eight matches. She went 2-1 against UC San Diego and Ohio State and 2-0 against Denison.
• Senior Hannah Du (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) paced the women's foil squad with seven wins, including 2-1 records against Air Force and Tufts, while junior Vera Witte (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) and senior Olivia Bennett (Shrewsbury, Mass./Worcester Academy) each had eight victories for the women's epee squad.

UP NEXT

• The Judges will close out the fall semester on Sunday, December 7, when they host the Carla-Mae Richards Invitational.