STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Brandeis University junior saber fencer Lev BenAvram (Bethesda, Md./Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School) posted a 6-2 record on Day 2 of the NCAA National Collegiate Fencing Championships, to earn second-team All-Division All-America honors with an eighth-place finish.
 
BenAvram entered the day in 10^th place with a 9-6 record after the first three rounds of action. One of his Day One wins was negated when a fencer withdrew due to injury.
 
"The pressure was on Lev to represent Brandeis and carry the banner," said head coach Elif Sachs Soyer. "He felt that responsibilty and was up to the task. He knew he had to let go of the reins a little bit and use his voice while maintaing self-control. Coach Matt [Zich] was a professional through and through, making sure Lev kept himself accountable."

On Day 2, BenAvram faced fencers from Harvard, Yale and Columbia in the fourth round. He went 3-1, besting Matthew Linsky from the Crimson, 5-0, and sweeping Jackson McBride and William Morrill, 5-3 and 5-2, from the Lions, but falling to Jordan Silberzweig of the Bulldogs, 5-2, in the last bout of the round.
 
In Round 5, BenAvram against won his first three bouts. He posted 5-1 wins over Avin Rai and Nolan Williams of Ohio State and a 5-2 victory over Jared Hammerstrom of Stanford. In the last bout of the day, BenAvram fell behind Yassin Khodir of Incarnate Word, 4-1. He battled back to 4-all, but Khodir landed the last touch to earn the 5-4 win.
 
With a final record of 14-8, BenAvram's eighth-place finish was the best among All Division III men's fencers at the NCAA Championships. He matches senior teammate Tony Escueta, who finished in eighth place at the 2024 Championships, giving the Judges a second-team All-American for the second year in a row.  BenAvram is the fifth men's saber All-Division All-American in program history.
 
"Lev was super resilient," said Soyer about BenAvram's ability to bounce back from a 1-3 record in Round 2. "We talked about it, and he said he realized he just need to be more pumped and strong in his voice. Others may have followed the momentum downward, but Lev is too well trained for that."

BenAvram's 14 team points have Brandeis in 17^th place after the conclusion of the men's competition. They lead the five Division III teams in the men's standings, two places and three points ahead of Johns Hopkins. JHU, NYU, and MIT all have women in the competition starting tomorrow. Brandeis is third among New England schools, behind only Harvard (5^th place, 58 points) and Yale (9^th place, 34 points), and just ahead of Boston College (18^th place, 12 points).