POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (November 13, 2016) – Senior epee fencer Olivia Weiss highlighted a strong start to the 2016-17 dual meet schedule for the Vassar College women's fencing team Sunday, as the Brewers hosted the Vassar College Invitational in Walker Field House.

VC went 4-3 as a team on the day, winning the first three matches against Haverford (15-12), Queens College (20-7), LIU Post (24-3) and Incarnate Word (17-10), before falling to Cornell University (21-6), Fairleigh Dickinson University (14-13) and Northwestern University (24-3).

In the opening dual meet round of the season, Vassar opened with a narrow win over Haverford College, as the foil team shined thanks to a 7-2 decision in the weapon group. Senior Elsa Stoff and sophomore Sophie Blumenstock each went 3-0 against the Fords, while Weiss also started her stellar day with three wins. Sophomore Rose Hulsey-Vincent also chalked up two wins against the Fords, and freshman Stephanie Gull added a pair at sabre as well.

In the 20-7 win in Round 2 against Queens, the sabre and epee teams were each very strong, going 7-2 for the round. Gull, along with Arianna Hawk and Lilia Hutchinson, each picked up a pair of wins in sabre while Stoff was 2-0 as well in foil. Weiss was once again undefeated in three bouts, while Sam Lottick chalked up two wins in as many bouts.

Vassar picked up another victory in Round 3, as the sabre team and foil team were each 9-0 in the match. VC followed that up with another strong win over the University of Incarnate Word, as all three weapons pulled out tight wins. Hawk and Hutchinson each went 2-1, while Mirit Rutishauser and Blumenstock also chalked up 2-1 records. Newcomer Victoria Lau and Weiss were both 2-1 as VC won the epee decision 5-4.

The Brewers would battle two teams in the top 10 during the last three rounds, but Stoff picked up two wins against Cornell in foil, and Weiss was 2-1 against the Big Red. In a narrow loss to Fairleigh Dickinson, Hawk was 2-1 in sabre, while Stoff and Rutishauser each were a perfect 3-0. In a loss to Northwestern, Weiss battled well and earned two more wins over nationally-ranked fencers for the Wildcats.

In all, Weiss was 16-5 on the day to lead the way for the Brewers while Stoff also went 12-4 to pace the way for the foil team. Fellow foilist Blumenstock was 12-9, while Gull finished the day 7-0 before retiring for the afternoon. Hulsey-Vincent added eight wins for VC, and Hawk added eight wins as well.

The Vassar foil team went 38-25 for the day, winning five of the seven group decisions, while VC's epee team was 33-30 for the day.

The Brewers will honor their two superb seniors next Sunday at 10 a.m. in Walker Field House for the Matthew Lampell Hudson River Invitational.