WALTHAM, MA (February 28, 2009) – At the crème de la crème of college fencing meets, the 112th Intercollegiate Fencing Association (IFA) Championships held Saturday at Brandeis University, both the Vassar men's and women's fencing teams ran into expected stiff competition in the event that serves as a prelude to the NCAA Northeast Regionals on March 8. Several male and female Brewer fencing had strong afternoons as the season draws to its pinnacle.

On the men's side, sophomore Andrew Fischl (Huntington, NY/Harborfields) qualified fourth from the Men's Saber A pool and then 6th in the Final. Last year's NCAA qualifier faced two Princeton fencers, besting John Stogin 15-10 in his first bout, then lost to Thomas Abend, 15-14, in a tightly contested match. In the Men's Foil A pool, Jesse Bisignano (Scituate, MA/Scituate) qualified seventh and finished 11th in the final. In the Foil B pool, sophomore Michael D'Urso (Peabody, MA/ St. John's Prep) finished ninth.

Junior Zach Pattison-Gordon (Arlington, MA/Arlington) qualified sixth from the Men's Epee A pool and finished 11th in the Final, while a pair of freshmen, Nick Johnson (Byfield, MA/ St. John's Preparatory) and Brian Rouse (Middletown, CT/Middletown) finished eighth in the Men's B and fifth in the Men's C pools.

The highlight for the women's team was a sixth place finish from sophomore Sopie Courser (Warner, NH) in the Women's Epee Final. Courser defeated Sallie Dietrich of Cornell, 15-10, before losing to Caitlin Kozel of Brandeis, 15-13, in a second round bout. In the Women's C pool, freshman Veronica Weser (Sante Fe, NM/Academy for Technology & Classics) was tenth.

On the team front, the men's Epee team placed sixth, Saber placed 9th and Foil 10th. The Vassar Men finished 9th overall. Women's Sabre and Foil finished 12th. Women's Epee Finished 10th. The Vassar Women finished 12th overall and in the 6-Weapon combined Vassar finished 10th, two slots higher that last year.

At the IFA's Courser was nominated by her peers as one of the semi-finalists for the Georges L. Cointe Award. The award is in honor of the long-time Cornell University fencing coach. Criteria for selection are: 1. Superior fencing skills, 2. Well thought out and executed actions, 3. Shows a "will to win" through initiative, determination , drive, and aggressiveness, 4. Courteous and gracious towards opponents and officials, 5. Knows the rules and accepts officials decisions, 6. Example for others to follow

The University of Pennsylvania won the overall and men's titles, while Columbia University captured the women's crown. It marked the first time that the Quakers earned the combined championship since the IFA began hosting men's and women's competition in 1996, while the men's title was their first since 1990 and their 10th overall. The win by the Columbia women was their first outright crown and second overall, having shared it with Princeton in 2003. The Lions also became the first team to finish first in all three weapons on the women's side.