NEW YORK, NY (February 12, 2009) - Vassar sophomore sabre fencer Andrew Fischl (Huntington, NY/Harborfields) went a perfect 6-0, but it wasn't enough to propel the Vassar men's past the strong squads from NYU and Columbia, which both registered victories over the Brewers Wednesday night.

Now 13-9 on the season, the Brewers will next compete at the New England Championships, hosted by Mount Holyoke on February 22.

Round 1 – NYU 17 - Vassar 10
Vassar was unable to repeat its win over NYU on Dec 6. Epee really never got off the ground in this round, reaching only a 3-6 mark. Foil was the same, with the exception of one bright spot. Two of the victories were registered by freshman Brian Rouse (Middletown, CT/Middletown) who normally fences epee, but was filling in for an ill teammate. Sabre managed a 4-5 finish behind three wins by Fischl and one by junior John Rothman (Wyckoff, NJ/Wyckoff).

Round 2 – Columbia 16 – Vassar 11
This final score represents the closest the Vassar men have come to Columbia in recent memory. Sabre had a 5-4 squad victory with Fischl at 3-0 and Rothman at 2-1. Senior captain Alex Snow (Silver Springs, MD/George C. Marshall) lost two bouts at 4-5 in this round. Epee managed a 4-5 squad mark against tough competition with freshmen Nick Johnson (Byfield, MA/St. John's Preparatory) and freshman Raffi Radna (Bronx, NY/Riverdale_ both going 2-1. Radna came back from a 4-1 deficit against Columbia standout Dwight Smith to take the bout 5-4. In foil, first year fencer Neal McFarland (Oakland, CA/Athenian) fenced an awesome bout for his first NCAA win.