FAIRFIELD, CT (December 7, 2014) -- The Vassar College men's fencing team was back in action Sunday after a few weeks off, traveling to Sacred Heart University for the Sacred Heart Tradition Tournament. The Brewers went 0-4 on the afternoon, but battled four teams either ranked in the CollegeFencing360.com Top 10 poll or receiving votes. 

Vassar opened the day with a 18-9 loss the New York University, followed by a 21-6 loss to No.4 Harvard University. Top-ranked Penn State University defeated the Brewers 27-0, before No. 3 Princeton University finished the day with a 20-7 win over Vassar. 

The Brewers did find a few solid performances within the event, including picking up nine bouts against New York University. In that match with the Violets, VC saw freshman sabre fencer Eli Polston (Silver Spring, MD/Einstein) go 3-0, including a thrilling opening match of thre day. In that match against NYU's Stephan Teng, Polston fell behind 2-0 before rallying for the next three touches. Teng responded with two straight points to go up 4-3, but Polston stayed calm and registered the final two touches of the bout to earn the 5-4 win. Sophomore Ry Farley (Pasadena, CA/Waverly School) was 2-1 as well in epee, while squad teammate George Whiteside (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Ludlowe) also posted two wins against NYU. 

Freshman Jonathan Alperstein (Newburgh, NY/John Jay) was 2-0 in epee against Harvard, and Farley posted another two wins against Princeton University in the afternoon finale. 

Vassar is back in action January 18, taking on University of Detroit-Mercy, Cleveland State University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Yale University for Senior Day in action from Walker Field House on the campus of Vassar College.