POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (November 14, 2010) —The Vassar College women's fencing team started the season in dominant fashion with a convincing seven team sweep of the field at the first home multi-meet of the season Sunday at Walker Field House.

While the Brewers benefited from strong performances by nearly the entire roster, several fencers stood out in going above and beyond the expected. Sophomore foilist Katie LeClair went undefeated on the day, posting a 16-0 cumulative record. Seniors Sophie Courser (epee) and Julie Carlsen (sabre), along with junior Brooke Schieffer (sabre) each lost only a pair, finishing the day 17-2, 14-2 and 16-2, respectively. The strong, at times overwhelming, performance of the women's side against a field of solid teams bodes well for a team loaded with talent and high hopes. A look at the round-by-round break down:

ROUND 1: Vassar 16, Haverford 11

The Brewers faced arguably their toughest opponent in the opener in a grueling match-up with the Haverford Black Squirrels, but proved more than ready to rise to the early challenge. The two time New England Champion epee squad led the way, convincingly topping Haverford 7-2 behind Courser's 3-0 effort. The sabre squad faced somewhat stiffer competition in winning the weapon on a 6-3 score, with Carlsen, Schieffer and freshman Hallie Stotler all posting 2-1 records. The foil squad ran into a brick wall, however, and despite a brilliant 3-0 effort by LeClair lost 3-6. It took the combined efforts of all three squads to get past the formidable Black Squirrels, but the Brewers were more than up for the occasion.

ROUND 2: Vassar 21, Army 6

Originally slated to face the absent Queens College, CUNY, the Brewers wound up facing West Point as a last minute replacement. After the challenge of the first round, the Brewers glided through Army in a rout. The sabre squad worked their way to an impressive 8-1 victory, behind 3-0 efforts from both Carlsen and Schieffer, while the foil squad rebounded from their tough loss to Haverford with a 7-2 victory keyed by senior co-captain Jackie Kory, who had a 3-0 run. Sophomore Caitlin Clevenger powered the epee side to a 6-3 victory with a 3-0 round, and all three weapons were able to get contributions from their substitutes once the match was firmly in hand.

ROUND 3: Vassar 23, Drew 4

The Brewers posted another major rout in the fourth round, overpowering the Drew University rangers 23-4. The epee and foil squads both came away with dominant 8-1 victories, with Courser, LeClair and junior Veronica Weser (epee) all finishing 3-0. Sabre finished only slightly behind their teammates with a 7-2 win, again behind Schieffer's 3 wins. The effort wasn't limited to the starters by any means, as all but one of the four Brewers substitutions contributed a victory to the total.

ROUND 4: Vassar 21, Hunter 6

The next team unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of a Vassar side which was firing on all cylinders was the Hunter College Hawks. Epee again headed up the effort with an 8-1 rout, riding 3-0 efforts by Courser and Clevenger. The foil team continued to prove that the Haverford loss was an aberration with a 7-2 victory, with Kory again remaining undefeated through all three of her bouts. Sabre won by the narrower margin of 6-3, benefiting from the fact that the Hawks had an undermanned sabre team, with only two fencers forced to surrender three forfeits across the match. Heading into the lunch break and a fifth round bye, the Brewer machine was rolling and looking every bit the team that finished last season with the best record in program history, if not better.

ROUND 5: Bye

ROUND 6: Vassar, 17, Stevens 10

Vassar was well aware heading into the sixth round that they were in for a fight, and that Stevens would not go down as quietly as some of their previous opponents. As such, they couldn't lean too heavily on any one squad to shoulder the bulk of the weight of the necessary 14 victories. As with Haverford, this round came down to a full team effort, and the Brewers delivered. Foil and sabre posted identical 6-3 victories, with undefeated marks by Carlsen and Kory. The epee squad had to grind out a tough 5-4 win, this time through the performances of Weser and Clevenger who contributed two victories a piece. It was the most tightly contested victory since the opener, and would prove to be the final time the Brewers were truly challenged en route to their sweep.

ROUND 7: Vassar 24, Yeshiva 3

With their two strongest opponents behind them and two marks in the victory column for their efforts, the Brewers would return to dominating the opposition. The epee team tore through the Maccabees 9-0 behind the starting trio of Courser, Weser and Clevenger, and sabre was right behind them with an 8-1 win featuring yet another 3-0 performance by Schieffer and 2 victories from sophomore substitute Jillian Josimovich. Foil added a 7-2 effort to the run away victory, this time receiving a 3-0 boost from junior Alia Heintz. With six long matches behind them, and six victories to show for it, the Brewers quickly moved past the victory to focus on the last team standing between them and a perfect day: the City College of New York Beavers.

ROUND 8: Vassar 23, CCNY 4

Once again, the strong performance of the epee squad led the way for the Brewers, thumping the Beavers 8-1 behind a 3-0 conclusion to Weser's strong day. The foil team equaled the 8-1 mark, with Kory staying undefeated yet again and Heintz providing a victory off the bench. Sabre managed a 7-2 record against the Beavers, including a pair of victories by Stotler off the bench. When the dust finally settled, the Brewers had beaten CCNY thoroughly, and proved to be an unstoppable juggernaut on the first weekend of team action on the young season.