From Brandeis University Athletics

The Brandeis fencing teams opened their 2015-16 campaigns on Friday at the New England Fall Collegiate Championship at Smith College, also referred to as The Big One. 

On the men's side, the Judges took home two medals. Sophomore Kyle Berney (Shreveport, La./Caddo Magnet) medaled for the second year in a row, taking silver in the sabre. Berney defeated his six pool play opponents by a 30-9 score to earn the sixth seed in the elimination bracket. Berney won his first two matches, 30-7, before taking a 15-10 decision in the quarterfinals over Dartmouth's Joshua Utterback. Berney then topped back-to-back opponents from BC, 15-7 and 15-8, to make the finals. He dropped the last match of the day to Benjamin Lin of MIT, a 2015 NCAA qualifier, 15-8.

The Judges' final medalist on the day was sophomore transfer Elishua Litle (Haifa, Israel), who took silver in the foil competition. Little took the ninth seed, actually third-best among his teammates, with a 30-8 advantage in pool action. Litle barely survived his opening round of the direct elimination, winning 15-12. After an easier time in the round of 32 with a 15-2 win, Litle faced teammate and eighth seed rookie Charlie Wells (Melville, N.Y. / Half Hollow Hills East)and edged his fellow Judges, 15-13. He knocked off top-seeded Hanmin Lee of Boston College in the semifinals, but  came up short against Sacred Heart's Tyler Endee, 15-9.

The men's epee squad performed well, but were the victim of bracketing that saw four different showdowns between Brandeis competitors. Rookie Phil Szeszol (Chester, N.J. / West Mendham) had the best finish, overcoming a 2-4 performance in pool play and a 15-14 scare in the first round to reach the quarterfinals in a quarter that three teammates. Szeszol's quarter included top-seeded Ben Kravetz (Scottsdale, Ariz./ Chapparral ), who went 30-9 in touches in pool play, and who fell to another Judge freshman, Nick Clancey (Louisville, Ky. / DuPont Manual).