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In a heavily contested bout versus rival NYU, both the mens and womens fencing teams came out with 14-13 wins to capture the UAA championships. Never before in Brandeis history have the mens and womens teams both knocked off NYU.

It looked grim for the men when they were down 12-7 late in the match, but they stormed back, taking seven of the final eight points to ensure a slim one point victory. The exclamation point on the win came from co-captain Jeremy Simpson 06, who squeaked out a 5-4 win in the saber event. Jim Kahler '07 picked up where Simpson left off, taking home saber honors with a 4-1 decision. Kahlers and Simpsons victories cut the NYU lead to 13-11 late in the contest.

Despite the triumphs of Messrs. Simpson and Kahler, it was the youngest Brandeis fencers who shone the brightest on this day. First year phenomenon Will Friedman09 won the foil event 5-3 and Eugene Vortsman 08 defeated his foil opponent 5-3 as time expired. Last, but certainly not least, foil twirler JD Carroll 09 came through against NYU senior co-captain Gabe Sinkin in a highly contested overtime match.

The women experienced similar successes, as they also outdueled NYU 14-13 by earning victories in 2 of the 3 weapons. The Lady Judges won a nail biter in the saber event 5-4 before knocking off the competition with a score of 6-3 in the foil event. The lone flaw for the Judges was a 6-3 loss in the epee event.

Nevertheless the women brought it back with rookies Kirsten Heinz 09 and Jessica Newhall 09, who were flawless in the saber and foil events. In the end, the decisive victory for the women came courtesy of Hannah Rosen 08, whose 5-2 win clinched 14 points and secured the match for the Judges.

Editors note: Clarissa Stark contributed to this report.