COLUMBUS, Ohio – On Friday, March 22, Brandeis University graduate student Maggie Shealy (Chapel Hill, North Carolina/East Chapel Hill) became the first woman in school history to win a national championship against Division I competition, winning the National Collegiate title in the women's sabre event at the 2024 NCAA Fencing Championships at the Ohio State University.

Shealy is the 27^th individual national champion in Brandeis history, and first in fencing. Brandeis's previous top finishers in the fencing championships were Olympian Tim Morehouse '00 and Kristen Foellmer '96, who each finished in second place. Shealy is the Judges' first national champion overall since 2019, when Emily Bryson '19 won the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field title in the 1,500-meter run. Twenty-five of Brandeis's other national champions came in track and field and cross country, with one other in men's tennis.

"This is a tribute to the dynamic duo of Maggie and our sabre coach, Matt Zich," said Brandeis head coach Elif Soyer Sachs. "They are an inspiration, taking the championship as the only woman in the competition from a Division III school across all three weapons."

With her victory, Shealy is just the second woman from a Division III institution to win a championship at the NCAA Fencing Championships, joining Caroline Purcell of MIT, who won the inaugural women's sabre title in 2000.

Shealy entered the day as the top-ranked fencer in the field, going 12-3 in the first three rounds of action on Thursday. Today, she went 6-2 in the round robin, tying for tops among women's sabre fencers in total wins and earning the second seed into the direct elimination field on indicator – the differential in touches scored versus touches received.

In the semifinals of the championships, Shealy faced third-seeded Vera Kong of Columbia, and defeated her handily, 15-9. In the other semifinal, fourth-seeded Julia Cieslar of St. John's upset top-seeded Ryan Jenkins of Princeton.

In the finals, Cieslar jumped out to leads of 2-0 and 3-1. Shealy won three straight points to go ahead, 4-3, and never trailed again. Cieslar tied her up at 4-4, but Shealy won four of the next five points to go ahead, 8-5, headed into the midpoint break. She extended her lead to 9-5 and kept Cieslar at bay the rest of the way, earning the national championship by a 15-10 score.

Shealy's 18 wins in pool play has Brandeis ranked 16^th among the 20 teams that have scored points so far at the NCAA Championships. The Judges will be represented by junior Tony Escueta (Grand Prairie, Texas/Abeka Home School Academy) in the men's sabre competition kicking off tomorrow.