POUGHKEESPIE, NY (April 14, 2009) – Although the equipment for the Vassar men's and women's fencing teams has been stored away until next season, the season didn't officially end for the Brewers until the Northeast Fencing Conference announced its list of All-Stars and Coach of the Year recipients. In both cases, Vassar had strong representation. Four fencers from the men's team were named First-Team All-Stars and head coach Bruce Gillman was named the Men's Team Coach of the Year. In addition, sophomore Sophie Courser from the women's team earned the prestigious Elliot Lilien Award.

Men's Northeast Conference Final Standings

Team	Won	Lost
Brandeis	10	0
Brown	9	1
Vassar	8	2
MIT	6	4
Boston College	6	4
Sacred Heart	6	4
Tufts	6	4
UMass	3	7
Dartmouth	2	8
Boston Univ.	1	9
New Hampshire	0	10

For the men's fencing team, named to the First-Team were senior Alex Snow in the sabre, sophomore Andrew Fischl in the sabre, freshmen Raphael Radna and Brian Rouse in the epee. For leading the men to a third place, 8-2 record, Gillman earned Coach of the Year honors. Gillman is assisted by Eric Soyka and supported in his coaching efforts by Alex Fotiyev, Samantha Klein, Tom Ciccarone, Heather Whitefield and Matt Lampell.

On the women's side, Courser earned the Elliot Lilien Award, presented to the fencer who combines Cheerfulness, Good Sportsmanship and An Excellent Parry System. “This is a significant yearly award that shows the respect that the other fencers and coaches have for Sophie and our entire team,” said Gillman. Courser was also a finalist for the Connie Award presented at the IFAs this year at Brandeis.