The Justice

Media Credit: Andrew Rauner Men's épée fencer Damien Lehfeldt '09 fights an opponent from Columbia University at the Intercollegiate Fencing Association?Championships Feb. 28.

Épée Caitlin Kozel '09 admitted she was worried about how she would fare against some of the nation's top fencers at the 112th Intercollegiate Fencing Association Championships, which were played at Brandeis last Saturday. Her first two bouts, both losses, did little to dissuade her doubt.

But in the end, Kozel turned things around, winning seven of her nine remaining bouts to earn the third seed in the bracket of 16 épée fencers.

Kozel eventually earned a bronze medal, finishing in a tie for third with Yale University junior Rebecca Moss after falling to Columbia University rookie Neely Brandfield-Harvey 15-7 in the semifinals.

"I came into the meet thinking I might not win a single bout," Kozel said. "Before the meet, I looked at all the A-strip fencers I would be competing against. I was very intimidated, but I managed to do well."

Collectively, Brandeis finished sixth overall in the six-weapon team standings, which combined both men's and women's competition. The sixth-place finish was the best among Division III schools at the meet.

Individually, the women's and men's teams both finished seventh of 12 teams in the three-weapon team standings.

The top Brandeis weapon performances came in the men's foil and the women's épée, in which both squads took sixth place.

The University of Pennsylvania won the overall combined six-weapon championship and the men's title. No. 5 Columbia took the women's championship, becoming the first school to win all three weapons on the women's side. They placed ahead of second-place UPenn in foil and épée and tied with the Quakers for first place in saber.

For the Judges, coach Bill Shipman said he thought both the men's and women's teams fenced well but did not finish as strongly as he had hoped.

"The women's team did not perform to the best of their abilities, but they performed as well as we expected," he said. "Unfortunately, the men's team did not fence as well. They haven't fenced competitively in a few weeks, and that might have hurt them in their preparation."

Continued...

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