POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (January 21, 2015) – After a successful weekend in Walker Field House last Sunday, the Brewers look to continue their momentum into the biggest afternoon of fencing yet this season. Vassar College will head to Brown University for a Northeast Fencing Conference action, hosted in Olney-Margolies Athletic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

Meet Details
Date: January 24, 2015
Meet: Brown Invitational (NEC Conference Meet No. 2)
Teams Competing: Boston College, Brandeis University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University, Dartmouth College, Tufts University
Links: (Vassar Men's Fencing Team Home Page) (Roster) (Schedule) (Statistics)
Site: Providence, RI
Facility: Olney-Margolies Athletic Center
Time: 10 a.m.
 
What To Look For
Last season, the Brewers had high hopes for the Northeast Fencing Conference but were saddled with three losses in the first conference day of action, falling to MIT, Brandeis and Brown. Vassar College is much deeper this season, and is in search of a conference championship in 2015. Coming into the weekend, Brandeis, MIT and Sacred Heart lead the men's standing with four wins apiece, while Brown is right behind with two. VC is one of six schools to either not fencing in NEC action, or has no wins as of yet. If the Brewers can get out to a hot start in league action, it could position itself nicely for the last NEC Conference meet on February 7 at Dartmouth.
 
A Look At The Field
The Brewers will take on six schools on Saturday morning, with each match providing a solid test. VC opens the action Saturday against Boston College, who is paced this year foil fencer Hanmin Lee, a NCAA Regional qualifier last year. Vassar then battle Brandeis, who comes in with a 8-6 overall record, going 4-1 in the first NEC meet. The Judges have a pair of NCAA Championship qualifiers back, as Adam Mandel (sabre) and Noah Berman (foil) lead the way. Mandel was fifth in the region in 2014, while Berman was 11^th regionally. Things don't get any easier for the Brewers, as they taking on Dartmouth in the third round of action.
 
After battling Dartmouth, Vassar then takes on host Brown University at 2:45 p.m., as the Bears come in with a 6-2 on the season. Brown is led by junior epee fencer Simon Jones, who finished eighth in the region a year ago, and placed 18^th at NCAA Nationals in 2014. Junior sabre fencer Denis Dukhvalov also just missed the NCAA Championships last year, placing 13^th in the regional meet. The Brewers then turn their attention to the Engineers of MIT, who return six regional qualifiers to the mix including a solid epee group in Sam Judd, Giulio Gueltrini and Dinis Cheian. The Brewers conclude the day with action against Tufts University, as the Jumbos are captained this season by sabre fencers James Kiefner and Thomas Lucic, along with epee fencer Robert Ruenes.

Polston Position
Freshman Eli Polston (Silver Spring, MD/Einstein) is coming off one of the best weekends in recent history for a sabre fencer, going 11-0 this past Sunday. Polston has earned 40 wins on the year, second-most on the squad.

Jostling For Control
The Brewers have gotten outstanding production out of the sabre and epee squads this year, as Vassar's epee group leads the team with 120 total wins. Not to be outdone, the sabre team is right behind with 116.

Take A Walk On The Whiteside
Brewer freshman epee fencer George Whiteside (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Ludlowe) bounced back from a tough weekend at Sacred Heart to go 9-2 this past Sunday, including going 3-0 against NJIT in a bit 16-11 win for VC.

Epee Pen
Vassar College has posted seen the epee group really take a step forward this year, as the team went 27-9 this past weekend, winning all four squad matches.

Speed Racek
Vassar freshman Tom Racek (Clark's Summit, PA/Abington Heights) has been a solid addition to the Brewer squad in 2015, and currently leads VC in wins at foil with 36 on the season.

Up Next
VC will head to Drew University next Saturday, January 31 at noon to take on the Rangers in non-conference fencing action.