WALTHAM, Mass. – Five Brandeis University fencers have earned Division III All-America honors from the United States Fencing Coaches Association, while two additional Judges earned Division III All-Northeast Region honors as well.
 
Five of the seven honorees come from the Judges' saber squad. Leading the way is junior Lev BenAvram (Bethesda, Maryland/Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School). In addition to earning Division III first-team All-America honors, BenAvram was a second-team All-Division All-American thanks to his eighth-place finish at the NCAA National Collegiate Championships last weekend. This was BenAvram's third Division III All-America honor from the USFCA. He placed 11^th at the NCAA Northeast Regionals.
 
Joining BenAvram on the Division III first-team was senior Tony Escueta (Grand Prairie, Texas/Abeka Home School Academy). Previously a three-time All-Division All-American, Escueta just missed out on the NCAA Championships this year, finishing 12^th in the Northeast Region after the region's saber allocation was diminished. Escueta was a two-time Division III Men's Saber Fencer of the Year and was named the National Saber Fencer of the Year in 2024. Escueta led the Brandeis men with 50 wins this season. This is his fourth Division III honor.
 
Senior Matthew Chaves (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) earned second-team Division III All-America status in the saber. Seeded 27^th in the region, he turned in a surprising ninth-place finish at the Northeast Regional, placing ahead of teammates BenAvram and Escueta. With 36 wins during the regular season, his qualifications were not enough to earn him a berth at nationals, but he did pick up his first career All-America honor.
 
The Judges' fourth Division III All-American in saber was senior Kayla Turnof (Westfield, N.J/Kent Place School), who was named a second-team Division III All-American for the first time in her career. After battling injury during the season, Turnof was second on the women's saber squad with 42 wins. Seeded 35^th, she reached the semifinals of the NCAA Regional Championships, placing 18^th overall.
 
The program's final All-American was junior Michael Yerokhin (Paramus, N.J./Paramus), who was a Division III Honorable Mention All-American for the first time in his career. Yerokhin led the men's foil squad with 31 wins, including 3-0 records against opponents from Stanford, Penn State and NYU. The 29^th seed at regionals, Yerokhin earned the 20^th of 21 spots in the semifinals and wound up finishing 15^th overall in the region.
 
Earning Division III All-Region honors for the Judges were women's junior saber fencer Kat Xikes (Chatham, N.J./Chatham), who led all Brandeis women's fencers with 62 wins this season and placed 30^th at Regionals; and sophomore Livvy Oliveira (Swampscott, Mass./Swampscott), who had 26 wins for the foil squad and placed 28^th at Regionals.