POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (January 28, 2015) – The Vassar College women's fencing squad will head to Madison, NJ to take on host Drew University Saturday, also battling Lafayette College later in the afternoon in a dual meet. The Brewers are fresh off a 2-5 weekend at the Northeast Fencing Conference competition held Saturday at Brown University. VC will look to get back to its winning ways this weekend.

Game Details
Date: January 31, 2015
Opponent: Drew University (0-4)
Links: (Drew Team Home Page) (Roster) (Schedule) (Statistics)
Site: Madison, NJ
Time: 12 p.m.
 
Game Details
Date: January 31, 2015
Opponent: Lafayette College (2-4)
Links: (Lafayette Team Home Page) (Roster) (Schedule)
Site: Madison, NJ
Time: 1 p.m.
 
What To Look For
The epee group for the Vassar College squad has faltered lately with the absence of Maggie Shepherd and Rachel Messbauer, who each went abroad for this semester. The squad, which had led the team win overall wins for much of the season, went 23-40 last weekend at Brown. This weekend will be a good test for the epee group to see if it can get back on track. Also, the foil group for the Brewers had a solid day at Brown last Saturday, earning a team-high 31 wins led by the 15 from freshman Kirsten Denman (Yellow Springs, OH/Yellow Springs)
 
A Look At The Opponents
The Brewers will take on host Drew University at 12 p.m. that afternoon, followed by a match-up with Lafayette College. The Rangers dropped four matches at the Philadelphia Invitational last weekend, but narrowly fell to Haverford College 15-12 in a very close match. Foil fencer Kelsey Oeler earned a spot at NCAA Regionals last season for the Rangers, as she finished 29^th, and junior sabre fencer Sarah Silvestri was 25^th at Mid-Atlantic Regionals in 2014. Look for those two to lead the way for the Rangers.
 
Lafayette came to the Vassar Invitational back on November 9, but these two teams did not fence each other that day. The Leopards have a deep women's squad, with multiple regional competitors from last season. Leah Hayden returns after a regional appearance last season in sabre, and Julia Sheng paced the foil squad for the Leopards. Sheng had a strong meet back in November at Vassar, and Colleen Way is also one to watch for LC.

Fine Foilist
Freshman Kirsten Denman posted a team-best 15 wins last weekend at Brown, and tallied three wins in three different matches. She leads the foil squad with 67 victories this season. She is currently three bouts short of qualifying, but would have one of the best winning percentages in the NFC so far this season.
 
Gold Medal
Freshman Annie Innes-Gold (Northampton, MA/Northampton) continues to impress, as she totaled a 14-7 record at Brown University last past weekend. Innes-Gold continues to lead the Brewers in total wins with 71.
 
Sister, Sister
Vassar freshman Annie Innes-Gold is currently tied in the Northeast Fencing Conference standings with her older sister from Tufts University, Sarah Innes-Gold.
 
Balanced Attack
The Brewers come into the weekend with all three weapons posting over 135 wins this season, with the sabre squad 13 bouts over .500 with a 146-133 record.
 
First Strike
Freshman Isabella DeStefano (Northborough, MA/Algonquin Regional) won her first collegiate bout this weekend against Tufts, and followed that up with three wins against Smith in foil.
 
Up Next
Vassar returns to NFC action next weekend in Hanover, NH, battling Wellesley College, University of New Hampshire, Boston University, University of Massachusetts and Sacred Heart University.