Senior Day Program

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (November 21, 2010) – On Senior Day, the Vassar College men's fencing team swept the five-team field at the 1st Annual Matt Lampell Invitation in convincing fashion at Walker Field House on Sunday.

The Brewers built on their strong 4-2 start against a highly competitive field on Sunday, November 14 and look to carry that momentum forward when they travel to Sacred Heart on Sunday, December 15 for a challenging meet against Harvard, Princeton, Penn State and Sacred Heart.

Before the fencing begin, the Brewers held a brief award ceremony to honor their four graduating seniors on the occasion of their final home meet. Co-captains Andrew Fischl (sabre) and Mike D'Urso (foil), along with Dennis D'Urso (sabre) and Conor Kenney (epee) each received commemorative plaques as a sign of appreciation for four years of dedication to the team, including their fair share of thrilling wins and lasting memories. And all four seniors would make their final match in front of a home crowd count, concluding the day without a single loss between them, tallying a collective 22-0 record.

Vassar made extensive use of its bench Sunday, and the talent that abounds on the team was in evidence with 9 fencers undefeated with a minimum of four bouts. Among the most impressive were sophomore Alex Vastola (foil) with a 10-0 record, Kenney and freshman John Arden (sabre) with an 8-0 finish each and freshman Matt Steinschneider(foil) posting a 7-0 mark. Here's a round by round look at how the Brewers fared on the afternoon:

ROUND 1: Vassar 24, Marist 3

The Brewers ended their season-opening meet with a gut-wrenching 13-14 loss to Army, and took out their lingering anger on the Red Foxes in a big way. The foil squad was a perfect 9-0, as Vastola and freshman Giovanni Zaccheo each turned in 3-0 performances to power the victory. The epee squad posted and 8-1 record, made more impressive by the fact that they subbed out all three of their starters after the first round. Yet the bench was more the ready to answer the call, with Kenney and freshmen Tushar Agarwal and Nicholas Mongillo all adding at least a single victory to the cause. Sabre finished with a score of 7-2 behind the 3-0 efforts of sophomore Jerry Dieudonne and Arden.

ROUND 2: Vassar 18, Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute 9

Vassar's second round match with the RPI Engineers would prove to be its closest on the day, and the only round in which the Brewers would not win at least 21 bouts. All three weapons turned in matching 6-3 efforts to make the victory as much a team effort as possible. Fischl provided a 3-0 mark to anchor the sabre squad's efforts, while Vastola proved to be the only foilist with multiple victories with a 2-0 finish. On the epee strip, Kenney and junior Brian Rouse would each end up 2-0 to help their squad secure the win. With a perhaps surprising challenge from RPI overcome, Vassar would resume the overwhelming momentum displayed against Marist and continue to barrel through their opposition round after round.

ROUND 3: Vassar 24, New Paltz 3

Vassar ran rampant in a third round rout, with the SUNY New Paltz Hawks putting up little resistance against the Brewer's offensive. Foil ran the table at 9-0 for the second time on the afternoon, with another 3-0 tally by Vastola the driving force behind it all. Subbing all three starters it after the first round yet again, the epee subs continued to step up all day long and a pair of victories by both Kenney and Agarwal powered the side to an 8-1 win. The sabre squad rode Dieudonne's 3-0 tally to a 7-2 finish, including a victory off the bench by freshman Kenny Lee.

ROUND 4: Vassar 23, Bard 4

The Bard College Raptors came into the meet minus an epee squad, and so immediately handed the Brewers a 9-0 edge coming into the penultimate round. The 9 automatic victories wouldn't even matter as an 8-1 finish by foil and a 6-3 showing for sabre provided the necessary 14 wins the hard way. This time is was freshman Alex Bue leading the way for foil, powering his way to a 3-0 finish, and Arden again came up big for sabre with a perfect mark against the Raptors. Lee also spotted the Brewers a pair of victories off the bench, and just like that the Brewers—in no small part thanks to strong showings from substitutes—were 4-0 with only one round left before they could make the sweep official.

ROUND 5: Vassar 21, Albany 6

The Great Danes, unfortunately for them, proved little obstacle for a Brewers side with a full head of steam. For the third time, the foil squad won every single bout for a 9-0 finish, with Bue again providing a 3-0 performance to lead the way. The epee squad contributed a 7-2 mark, thanks to another reliable 2-0 effort by Kenney off the bench. The Great Danes did manage to at least give the sabre squad a fight, with Vassar scraping past with a 5-4 score. Fischl led his squad over Albany with a spectacular 3-0 showing, winning all three of his bouts 5-0. Though the field was less competitive, the men had bounced back convincingly after a tough season opener and look to carry some of that momentum and high spirit to Sacred Heart after Thanksgiving for what looks to be the single most difficult meet of the season.