The New York University men's fencing team, which recently moved up to the 9th-ranked squad in all of NCAA, traveled to Brandeis University in Waltham, MA, on January 27th to compete in the Eric Sollee Invitational. 

The Violets went head-to-head against four teams on Saturday. In chronological order, the opponents they faced were 15th-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the host 19th-ranked Brandeis, 10th-ranked Boston College, and finally 11th-ranked Duke University

The first match against the MIT Engineers saw NYU take their first win of the day, but not before an uphill battle. MIT won both the epee and foil competitions by identical scores of 6-3. The NYU saber team, however, climbed to a dominating 8-1 victory behind the exploits of Will Margulies, Jerry Pan and Matthew Zhou, propelling the Violets to a 14-13 victory.

The Violets then took on the host Judges. This time, NYU's foil team stepped up with a statement 9-0 victory. Oliver Hu, Farr Dickson and Adam Wong all went 3-0. The Violets rode this all the way to an eventual 18-9 win. 

Against Boston College, NYU won two of the three weapons, posting 5-4 wins in saber and foil and securing a tight 14-13 victory over the Eagles. 

When NYU faced the Duke for the last match of the day, it was a different story as the Violets suffered their only loss of the invitational, 19-8. 
 
"I am thrilled that our men's team has once again demonstrated exceptional skill and determination, finishing with an impressive 4-1 record," said Head Coach Ben Bratton. "This consistent performance is a strong indication of our rise as one of the top fencing programs in the country. I couldn't be prouder of our athletes' dedication and hard work." 

The Violets now sport a 12-7 record on the season. 

NYU will have a quick turnaround as they return to action tomorrow, January 28th, at 1:30pm at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.