MADISON, NJ (January 28, 2015) – The Vassar College men's fencing team (15-11) will take a week off from Northeast Fencing Conference competition this Saturday, traveling to Madison, NJ for couple of dual meets against the Rangers of Drew University. The Brewers are coming off a 2-4 weekend at Brown University last Saturday in NFC action.

Game Details
Date: January 31, 2015
Opponent: Drew University (0-5)
Links: (Drew Team Home Page) (Roster) (Schedule) (Statistics)
Site: Madison, NJ
Time: 12 p.m. & 1 p.m. 
 
What To Look For
The Brewers will be looking to rebound after a tough day last Saturday, but have been strong against the Rangers over the last few seasons. Vassar has knocked off the Rangers in each of its last five meetings, including twice last year. The Rangers don't have any foil fencers listed on their roster, so look for VC to start up 9-0 in each of the two matches slated for the two squads Saturday.
 
A Look At The Rangers (0-5)
The Rangers went winless at the Philadelphia Invitational last weekend, dropping matches to Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, Haverford College, University of North Carolina and New Jersey Institute of Technology. The Rangers are led by their epee group, as the squad had 10 of the team's 16 bout wins last weekend. Senior epee fencer Sean McAuliffe qualified for NCAA Regionals last season in epee, while John Orozco and Christian Dugan will fortify the squad for the Rangers. The sabre team will be paced by senior Mark Lessner, who has six wins in dual meets thus far this season. Drew is under the direction of Vincent Paragano, who took over for Dayn DeRose earlier this month after DeRose announced his retirement.
 
Team Leader
Junior captain Elam Coalson (River Forest, IL/Oak Park & River Forest) had a team-best 10 wins last weekend at Brown University, earned two or more wins in four of the six matches.
 
Steady Epee
The epee group this past weekend went 29-25 for the day, but all three starters contributed at least eight wins, with sophomore Ry Farley (Pasadena, CA/Waverly School) and George Whiteside (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Ludlowe) posting nine victories.
 
Battle Is On
The battle for the most wins on the team is a tight one as of right now, with freshman epee fencer Jonathan Alperstein (Fishkill, NY/John Jay) holding a slight edge over fellow newcomer Eli Polston (Silver Spring, MD/Einstein) 50-48. Five others come into the weekend with 40 or more victories on the year.
Hill To Climb
The Brewers currently are tied for sixth in the Northeast Fencing Conference with University of Massachusetts with two team wins. Brandeis leads the conference with nine team wins thus fair this season.
 
Up Next
Vassar College will finish Northeast Fencing Conference competition next weekend in Hanover, New Hampshire, traveling to Dartmouth to take on the University of New Hampshire, Boston University, UMass and Sacred Heart University.