MEDFORD, Mass. – The Brandeis University fencing teams competed at the NCAA Northeast Regionals today, and the men's saber squad stood out, sending three Judges to the finals.
Brandeis was paced by junior
Lev BenAvram (Bethesda, Md./Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School), a two-time NCAA qualifier who was seeded third entering the meet, and senior
Tony Escueta (Grand Prairie, Texas/Abeka Home School Academy), a three-time NCAA participant who was seeded 10
th. Sophomore
Matthew Chaves (Durham, N.C. Durham Academy Upper School) also made a surprise run to the finals as the 27
th seed. After receiving byes into the second round, Escueta went 5-1, whole BenAvram and Chaves were each 4-2 to take the 8
th and 13
th seeds into the semifinal rounds of 21. BenAvram went 4-2 again in his second pool to take over the eighth seed, while Escueta went 3-3 with a +5 indicator to earn the ninth seed. Chaves also went 3-3 with a 0 indicator to earn the 12
th and final spot in the final 12. In the last round, it was Chaves with a surprise 5-6 to finish a team-best eighth overall. In the final round, he defeated two opponents from Columbia, one from St. John's, one from Yale, plus Escueta. Escueta earned two wins, over BenAvram and a foe from St. John's, while BenAvram knocked off Chaves and a St. John's foe. BenAvram finished in 11
th place and Escueta was 12
th.
The Judges will learn who has qualified for the NCAA Championships from this group on Tuesday. The selections are based on a combination of the Regional placement and the individual's regular season performance.
Two other Brandeis reached the semifinal rounds. Senior
Kayla Turnof (Westfield, N.J./Kent Place School) returned from injury for the first time since December to reach the women's saber semifinals. Seeded 35
th, Turnof went 2-2 in the preliminary round, 3-3 with a +1 indicator in the second round to advance to the semis in 19
th place. She went 1-5 in the semis with a win over a Cornell opponent to finish in 18
th place.
Junior
Michael Yerokhin (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) made the semifinals for the men's foil squad. Seeded 29
th entering the meet, Yeokhin went 3-1 in the preliminary round. He was 3-3 in the second round with a -2 indicator to sneak into the semis in the 20
th out of 21 spots. Wins over Boston College, NYU and MIT gave Yerokhin a 15
th-place finish, missing out on the finals by six touches.
OTHER TOP FINISHES
UP NEXT
- The Judges who qualify for the NCAA Championships will compete at Penn State University from March 20-23.
