The Justice

Although she admitted she was unsure of what to expect against the unfamiliar competition at last weekend's Duke University Invitational in Durham, N.C., captain and foil Stefanie Aucoin '08 helped the women's fencing team prove it could compete with some of the top teams in the country.

With the score tied at 13 in the Judges' match against Duke, Aucoin rebounded from a pivotal loss earlier in the match to win the clinching bout 5-1, leading the Judges to a 14-13 victory in a match they had trailed 13-11 with three bouts to go.

The win enabled the women's team to finish with a 3-2 record, as they also beat the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 16-11 and the U.S. Air Force Academy 18-9 while losing to the University of North Carolina 20-7 and Temple University 21-6. The Judges' record is now 18-7 on the season.

"I thought I lost the whole match for everyone by losing my bout with the score tied at 11, and I had to try and get up and win 14-13," Aucoin said. "It was such a nerve-wracking situation."

The men's team continued its struggles from last weekend's Brandeis/MIT Invitational, finishing 2-3 with losses to Johns Hopkins 18-9, North Carolina 16-11 and Duke 14-13 and wins over MIT 20-7 and Air Force 16-11. They are now 18-5 this season.

Duke challenged the women's team throughout their match. With a 13-11 lead, the Blue Devils were primed to hand Brandeis their third loss of the day, but foils Jessica Newhall '09 and Jess Davis-Heim '09 helped the Judges tie the score with convincing 5-0 victories in each of their bouts.

That left Aucoin with a chance to complete the comeback against Duke senior Marilyn Tycer. Aucoin got a quick 3-1 lead, and Tycer called a timeout to regroup. It didn't help, however, as Aucoin got two quick touches following the timeout to earn the 5-1 victory.

Continued...

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