WELLESLEY, MA (February 6, 2010) – Going 4-1 in five matches, with a lone loss to two-time champion Sacred Heart, propelled the Vassar College men's fencing team to a tie for second place in the Northeast Fencing Conference in the third multi-meet at Wellesley College on Sunday. The second place finish was Vassar's best ever, and secured the men's and women's combined title.

All weapons preformed admirably. In foil, senior captain Mike D'Urso was 11-3, and freshmen Alex Bue and Matt Steinschneider were 13-2 and 9-0 respectively. In sabre, senior Dennis D'Urso was 12-3 and freshman John Arden 10-5. In epee, sophomore Tavish Pegram was 11-1 and juniors Nick Johnson and Brian Rouse were 11-4 and 9-3 respectively.

Now 23-10 on the season, the Brewers will next hit the road for matches against both New York University and Columbia on February 9.

In foil, senior captain Mike D'Urso was 11-3, and freshmen Alex Bue and Matt Steinschneider were 13-2 and 9-0 respectively. In sabre, senior Dennis D'Urso was 12-3 and freshman John Arden 10-5. In epee, sophomore Tavish Pegram was 11-1 and juniors Nick Johnson and Brian Rouse were 11-4 and 9-3 respectively.

Round 1: Bye
Round 2: Vassar 20 - University of Massachusetts 7 UMass had some challenging fencers and all three squads had to work hard to earn their wins. Sabre went 5-4 behind a 3-0 performance from Dennis D'Urso and 2-1 from Arden. Epee was 7-2 with Pegram, Rouse, and senior Conor Kenney undefeated, but Johnson had a tough round at 1-2. Foil was best at 8-1 with wins from Mike D'Urso, Bue and Steinschneider.

Round 3: Vassar 11- Sacred Heart University 16
Defending Conference Champion SHU proved a formidable and tough to defeat opponent. Sabre had a frustrating match with Dennis D'Urso having a tough round at 1-2 and Arden losing all three of his bouts 4-5. Foil had a decent round at 4-5 behind a great 2-1 performance by Michael D'Urso, but Bue was only able to get one win to back him up. Epee dominated at 6-3 with Johnson, Rouse and Pegram all going 2-1. Rouse and Johnson each lost their bouts 4-5. The three bouts needed to win were there, but Vassar couldn't get over the top.

Round 4: Bye

Round 5: Vassar 20 - University of New Hampshire 7
UNH had some pesky sabre fencers, so Vassar only managed a 5-4 squad victory, led by Gabriel Perez who won his first bout of the day in this match. Epee went 6-3 with only Pegram undefeated in this round. Foil was a perfect 9-0 with wins from Mike D'Urso, Bue, Steinschneider, and freshman Giovanni Zaccheo.

Round 6: Vassar 23 - Boston University 4
Epee was undefeated at 9-0, foil only dropped one bout to go 8-1 and sabre was 6-3 with both Dennis D'Urso and Arden at 3-0.

Round 7: Vassar 21 - Dartmouth 6
Dartmouth fielded a challenging epee squad. Kenney went only 1-2 in this round and Rouse 2-1. Johnson finished a tough day well at 3-0. Sabre was 7-2 with another win for Perez and Dennis D'Urso and Arden going undefeated. Foil finished very strong at 8-1 with Bue, Steinschneider, and Zaccheo unbeaten in this round.