First Brandeis Olympian visiting campus today
Tim Morehouse '00 captured silver in Beijing
Morehouse (second from right) and his fencing teammates celebrate in Beijing with Al Roker of "Today"
Morehouse (left) on the red carpet with actress Lindsay Lohan
While Brandeis alumni have distinguished themselves in a variety of fields since the university’s founding 60 years ago, Tim Morehouse ’00 achieved a Brandeis first on August 17, 2008 when the world-ranked fencer and his U.S. teammates (Keeth Smart, Jason Rogers, and James Williams) won the silver medal in the team saber competition at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
On Friday, Oct. 31, the university will mark that historic Brandeis first and salute Morehouse when he visits campus to mingle with students and talk about his Olympic experience. On behalf of Brandeis, President Jehuda Reinharz will present Morehouse with a special citation for distinguished achievement.
Look for Morehouse and say ‘hello’ from noon-1:30 p.m. in the Usdan cafeterias, and hear all about his Olympic experience during a talk he will be giving in the Napoli Room, Gosman Sports and Convocation Center, from 3:30-4:30. After his presentation Morehouse will mingle and take pictures with students, also in the Napoli Room.
“I'm very proud of being the first Brandeis Olympian,” Morehouse said in a recent interview.
The seventh-seeded United States trailed late in both its quarterfinal and semifinal matches, but rallied to defeat No. 2 Hungary and third-seeded Russia by scores of 45-44. The United States lost to France, 45-37, in the championship bout, but still captured the first American medal in men's fencing since 1984.
Morehouse scored 13 points against Hungary, including outscoring his opponent 7-2, in his first bout of the day to give the United States a 15-12 lead. In the semifinals, Morehouse bested his opponents, 17-13.
Earlier at the Olympics, the 17th-seeded Morehouse, 29, lost in the second round of the individual saber competition. Morehouse received a first-round bye and then fell in the second round to No. 16 Boris Sanson of France, 15-12. Morehouse jumped out to a 7-5 lead in the match, but Sanson rallied to take an 8-7 advantage heading to the first break. Morehouse managed to tie the match, 9-9, and was ahead, 12-11, before Sanson responded by scoring the final four touches to advance to the round of 16.
Morehouse was an alternate member of the U.S. team at the Summer Olympics in Athens four years ago, but did not get the chance to compete. The Americans finished fourth, suffering two one-point defeats in the medal round.
At Brandeis, where he was coached by Bill Shipman, Morehouse qualified for the NCAA Championships as a sophomore, finishing 10th in saber. He was sixth as a junior and earned a fourth-place finish nationally as a senior. He was a three-time All-American.
Morehouse started fencing as a teenager in New York and competed at Riverdale Country Day School under coach Martin Schneider. For the past eight years, he has worked with U.S. national team coach Yury Gelman.
Since 2000, while chasing his Olympics dreams, Morehouse has simultaneously pursued his other passion – education. He joined Teach For America and taught seventh grade for three years at Mirabal Sisters School in the Washington Heights section of New York City. He earned a master’s degree in teaching from Pace University and is a fully certified teacher. For the past four years, he has been on staff at Teach For America as a program director and in other capacities,
including teacher training and staff recruitment.
