CAMBRIDGE, MA (November 29, 2009) – Fencing against some of the strongest teams in the country at a multi-team meet at Harvard University on Sunday, the Vassar College men's fencing team displayed strong performances throughout the afternoon, hanging close in several matches and knocking off traditional foe Scared Heart in a tightly contested match.

The Brewers enter winter break with a 9-5 record and return to action on January 18 at Yale.

Several fencers had distinguished performances, led by junior Andrew Fischl (11-7 in the sabre), senior captain John Rothman (6-5 in the sabre), sophomore Nick Johnson (7-11 in the epee), senior captain Zach Pattison-Gordon (7-10 in the epee) and junior Mike D'Urso (5-6 in the foil).

Round 1 – BYE

Round 2 – Vassar 11 – University of North Carolina 16
UNC was not a team Vassar could afford to warm up against. The Tar Heels fenced the Brewers tough from the beginning in all three weapons. Sabre got off to a very slow start, losing the first three bouts, but Fischl and Rothman managed two wins each to bring the squad mark to 4-5. Epee went 4-5 and foil only managed one win each to get to 3-6.

Round 3 – Vassar 8 – New York University 19
The last two years, Vassar ousted traditional foe NYU, but the Violets turned the tide on Sunday. Foil and epee were both just unable to get of the ground, going 2-7 each. Sabre managed 4-5 with Rothman going 2-1. Vassar will try to even the score against NYU at Columbia in February.

Round 4 – Vassar 14 – Sacred Heart University 13
This was the same score as this match was last year at Vassar. Last year Mike D'Urso won the deciding bout. This year he played a pivotal rolet again, winning two important bouts. Fischl, Rothman, Jesse Bisignano, and Pattison-Gordon all did their parts by winning two bouts each. The deciding sabre and foil bouts were won by Dennis D'Urso and Tavish Pegram. D'Urso secured the sabre squad victory, Tavish the foil squad victory and the deciding bout in the match.

Round 5 – Vassar 7 – Princeton 20
Vassar sabre accounted for five of the seven bout victories in this round with Fischl going 3-0 and Dennis D'Urso at 2-1. Foil was blanked and epee had two wins.

Round 6 – Vassar 5 – Penn State 22
Against 11-time NCAA Champion Penn State, Fischl won two bouts. Matt Harvey, Zach Pattison-Gordon and Nick Johnson accounted for the other three Vassar victories.

Round 7 – Vassar 7 – Harvard 20
Mike D'Urso had another good round, going 2-1 in foil. Host Harvard was in firm control in sabre and epee competition.