PROVIDENCE, RI (March 14, 2010) – In a sport where winning and losing is a clear cut distinction, two members of the Vassar College men's fencing team wait in limbo to see if their performances at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship held at Brown University on Sunday were good enough for the ultimate prize – a qualifying spot in the NCAA Championships.

In the Epee, sophomore Nick Johnson, who won the NEIFC Championships at Mt Holyoke two weeks ago, was dominant in his quarterfinal and semi-final pools and roared into the final pool of 12. Johnson, however, “ran out of gas” according to head coach Bruce Gillman and struggled from that point. In a difficult 11 bout marathon competition at Brown, Johnson won only two of his final bouts, losing four of them 5-4 and finished 11th overall.

For qualifying purposes, Johnson placed 10th in the Region, leaving him one position short of the final qualifying spot for the NCAA Championships that will be held at Harvard on March 25-28. Gillman believes Johnson is in the mix to compete as an at-large selection in a field that will be determined on Tuesday, March 16.

Junior Andrew Fischl had a frustrating day in the Sabre, according to Gillman. Fischl started slowly in his quarterfinal pool, losing his first two bouts. He finished 2-3 in the pool but was denied the chance at a third win, because one of the fencers in the pool had withdrawn because of injury. “

No one was certain that Andrew would advance, but he did just squeeze into the semi-final round, where he went 3-3,” said Gillman. “Unfortunately, that turned out not good enough to make it into the final pool of 12. All may not be lost, however, as Andrew's excellent season rating gives him a chance for an at-large selection. As with Nick Johnson, we will find out about that when the NCAA makes an announcement on Tuesday.

Four Brewers competed in the Epee: Senior captain Zach Pattison-Gordon finished 26th, sophomore Brian Rouse placed 34th and freshman #Dan Flynn finished 37th.

In sabre competition, senior captain John Rothman finished 23rd and junior Dennis D'Urso finished 25th.

In Foil, senior Jesse Bisignano finished 29th , freshman Tavish Pegram finished 31st, and junior Michael D'Urso finished 32nd.