NEW YORK, NY (February 9, 2011) – Vassar's annual trek into New York City for matches against New York University and Columbia University always are challenging for the men's fencing team, and without two starters available, the Brewers came up just short, falling to NYU 19-8 and Columbia 16-11.

Now 23-12 on the season, the Brewers will next compete in the New England Championships hosted by Mount Holyoke College on February 27.

Notable performances for Vassar came from sophomore Tavish Pegram who went 4-2 in epee, senior Dennis D'Urso a 4-2 record in the sabre and freshman John Arden who went 3-3 in sabre.

Round 1: NYU 19 - Vassar 8
The NYU foil squad that blanked Vassar at 0-9 in December did it again repeat the feat Wednesday night. Sabre had a better finish at 3-6 with D'Urso going 2-1. Epee had the strongest performance in this round, pulling off a 5-4 squad victory behind Pegram's 3-0 performance and junior Brian Rouse who went 2-1.

Round 2: Columbia 16 - Vassar 11
According to head coach Bruce Gillman, Vassar's finish against Columbia was the best in school history. Epee lost 1-8 to a very strong Columbia squad, but sabre and foil fared much better. Arden and D'Urso each were able to go 2-1 and the squad only lost by one to go 4-5. Foil had a resounding squad victory 6-3 with senior captain Mike D'Urso and freshmen Alex Bue and Giovannu Zaccheo all at 2-1 for the round.