SOUTH HADLEY, MA (February 23, 2009) -- The Vassar Women's Fencing Team earned a series of first-time achievements at the New England Fencing Championships that speak volumes about the type of season the Brewers have produced in 2008-09. For openers, Vassar finished third overall out of 14 teams, the best finish ever in program history. The Epee squad earned a squad title for a program first time and sophomore Sophie Courser (Warner, NH) became Vassar's first two-time New England Champion in the Epee.

Riding high on these achievements, the Brewers will next take their success at the New England Championships to Brandeis for the IFA Championships on Saturday, February 28.

Team Performances
-- The Brewers finished third overall, the program's highest finish ever.
-- The Epee squad consisting of Courser, senior Molly Soiffer (Newton, MA/Buckingham, Brown & Nichols), senior Meryl Franklin (Chapel Hilll, NC/East Chapel) and freshman Vernoica Weser (Santa Fe, NM/Academy for Technology and Classics) finished first, the first time ever for an Vassar Epee Squad.

Individual Performances
-- Courser became a New England Champion in Women's Epee for the second time a row.
-- Sophomore Jackie Kory (Martinez, CA/Horizons Home Study), finished second in the Foil.
-- Senior team captain Erica Seigneur (Azusa, CA/Azusa) finished in the top six in the Sabre.
-- Junior Melissa Lee (Fountain Valley, CA/Fountain Valley) finshed in the top 12 in the Foil.
-- Soiffer finished in the top 6 in Epee.
-- Franklin finished just one touch from making the semifinal pools in
Epee out of the C pool.