Women’s fencers Anika Breker ’24 and Alexandra Tzou ’26 competed at the 2024 NCAA Fencing Championships on March 21 and 22, a first at NCAA Championships for both players. The two teammates qualified for the championships following their performances at the NCAA Northeast Regional Tournament in early March.
Breker, who entered regionals as the 26th seed, had a wonderful run on the foil against tough opponents to win her qualifying bid. In the Northeast Regional competition, Breker ground out twenty wins against tough opponents — including her teammate Jessie Chen ’27 — to take fifth place. The stellar performance earned her the qualification after a previously lackluster start to the season.
Tzou, who had distinguished herself as one of Bruno’s prime talents on the saber before the tournament, did not have the same success at regionals and placed 15th. But her skills and success earlier in the season landed her a bid to compete nationally.
On the first day of national competition, Breker managed to grab four wins for the Bears in the first three rounds. Her performance, which slumped in comparison to her success at regionals, sat her in 22nd place heading into the second day.
In those first three rounds, Tzou managed to notch one more win than Breker, but she also found herself struggling to find her feet early in the national competition. By the end of the first day, she also sat in 22nd place.
One of Tzou’s wins came over former Bruno fencer Casey Chan ’23, who is currently fencing in her graduate season at Stanford.
Neither fencer managed to turn their luck around on the second day. Breker managed two more wins, while Tzou only managed to have the final say in one match. After the second day, both competitors had won six matches.
By the end of the competition, both Tzou and Breker sat in 23rd place, ending their national debuts and this season of Brown women’s fencing.
Dennis Carey is a Sports Editor who enjoys playing volleyball, listening to and collecting vinyl records, and poorly playing the guitar in his spare time.
