Spring Break
FENCING: Three Judges in Nationals
by Jeffrey Pickette
Senior writer
Sports | 3/13/07
Posted online at 10:58 PM EST on 3/12/07
/ Last updated at 8:55 PM EST on 3/12/07
While the men's fencing team will send several returning top performers to NCAA championships, newcomer Caitlin Kozel '09 will represent the women at the tournament.
At Sunday's Northeast regional competition held at Tufts University, foil Will Friedman '09, épée Kai Keller '07 and épée Kozel all gave top-notch performances, qualifying for Nationals, which will take place March 22-25 in Madison, N.J.
This is the second consecutive year Friedman has made NCAAs, while Keller returns after qualifying in 2004 and 2005. Kozel, making her first career appearance at Nationals, will be the first woman to represent Brandeis since épée Jessica Lewis-Turner '04 in 2004.
"I'm ecstatic for Will and Kai," captain Brendan Doris-Pierce '07 said. "They've been the most consistent, if not the best fencers [we've had this season]. They've worked hard to get to this point."
"It was a big surprise for Caitlin to [qualify]," coach Bill Shipman said. "She didn't have a good seed [at Regionals], but she put on a good performance."
Four NCAA regional championships are held throughout the country, with a total of 24 fencers qualifying per weapon. Qualifying is based not only on performance at Regionals, but also on performances throughout the season as well. Regionals consist of three pool rounds and a final round-robin championship.
Friedman was seeded ninth among 32 foils at the tournament and finished 13th. Though he failed to reach the championship round, a strong regular-season record earned him a trip to Nationals.
"It's exciting to qualify for the second year in a row," Friedman. "There was a lot of pressure to qualify for the second time; I was glad that I could live up to it."
When Friedman was pitted against teammate Eugene Vortsman '08 in the tournament's third round, Friedman won the Brandeis showdown 5-4. This teammate-versus-teammate scenario is unique to NCAA championship events.
At Sunday's Northeast regional competition held at Tufts University, foil Will Friedman '09, épée Kai Keller '07 and épée Kozel all gave top-notch performances, qualifying for Nationals, which will take place March 22-25 in Madison, N.J.
This is the second consecutive year Friedman has made NCAAs, while Keller returns after qualifying in 2004 and 2005. Kozel, making her first career appearance at Nationals, will be the first woman to represent Brandeis since épée Jessica Lewis-Turner '04 in 2004.
"I'm ecstatic for Will and Kai," captain Brendan Doris-Pierce '07 said. "They've been the most consistent, if not the best fencers [we've had this season]. They've worked hard to get to this point."
"It was a big surprise for Caitlin to [qualify]," coach Bill Shipman said. "She didn't have a good seed [at Regionals], but she put on a good performance."
Four NCAA regional championships are held throughout the country, with a total of 24 fencers qualifying per weapon. Qualifying is based not only on performance at Regionals, but also on performances throughout the season as well. Regionals consist of three pool rounds and a final round-robin championship.
Friedman was seeded ninth among 32 foils at the tournament and finished 13th. Though he failed to reach the championship round, a strong regular-season record earned him a trip to Nationals.
"It's exciting to qualify for the second year in a row," Friedman. "There was a lot of pressure to qualify for the second time; I was glad that I could live up to it."
When Friedman was pitted against teammate Eugene Vortsman '08 in the tournament's third round, Friedman won the Brandeis showdown 5-4. This teammate-versus-teammate scenario is unique to NCAA championship events.
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