The Justice

Media Credit: Hsiao-Chi Pang Silver medalist Tim Morehouse '00 delivers a speech in the Napoli Room last Friday about his Olympic experience representing the United States on the fencing team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Donning a black suit with a silver medal hanging around his neck, Tim Morehouse '00 admitted he threw off many Brandesians last Friday in his first visit to his alma mater since winning a silver medal as a member of the U.S. Fencing Team at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

"All day, I've been walking around campus, and so many people have congratulated me on my Halloween costume," he joked at the start of his speech. "Maybe it wasn't the best day to walk around with my Olympic medal."

The ensemble was merely Morehouse's choice of attire for his visit, which coincidentally occurred on Halloween. After mingling with students in the Usdan Student Center during lunch hours and taking pictures with University President Jehuda Reinhartz, Morehouse spoke about his childhood, Brandeis, pre-Olympic preparations and Olympic experiences to an audience of about 40 people in the Napoli Room of the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center.

"This is like coming home," Morehouse said in an interview after the speech. "I have such fond memories of fencing here."

Morehouse was the first Brandeis alumnus to compete in the Olympics. He won his silver medal in the team saber competition, helping the U.S. defeat Hungary and Russia by one point each before falling to France in the gold medal match. He competed for the Judges from 1997 to 2000, making three NCAA Championship appearances and finishing fourth in the nation in the saber division in 2000.

Morehouse began his speech by talking about his childhood. When he was in ninth grade, he won a key New York City tournament, but coach Bill Shipman was the only coach that saw him that day.

"If I knew he was going to make the Olympic team, I would have come after him even harder," Shipman joked in a phone interview.

Morehouse then spoke of his Brandeis experience, which included finishing in the top 10 in the nation in saber three times and leading the Judges to the No. 1 ranking in Division III as a senior. After graduating, Morehouse decided he would aim to become an Olympic fencer, even though he said he was mostly anonymous on the national scene.

Continued...

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