FAIRFIELD, CT (December 4, 2016) – The Vassar College men's fencing team participated in one of the most difficult multi-meets of the entire NCAA fencing schedule Sunday afternoon, taking on six teams either ranked or receiving votes at the Sacred Heart University Traditional Tournament in action from Pitt Center.

The Brewers picked up two big team wins, knocking off the host Pioneers 16-11 and New Jersey Institute of Technology 15-12. NJIT was ranked No. 12 in the CollegeFencing360.com Men's Coaches Poll, while Sacred Heart was No. 16. Vassar (16-4) did drop its first four matches of the season though, falling to No. 8 Harvard University 24-3, New York University 18-9, No. 7 Princeton University 21-6 and No. 5 Penn State University 20-7.

The first outing of the day for Vassar was against the Ivy League Crimson, and senior epee fencer Ry Farley chalked up two wins including a 5-4 win over Jon Gill and a 5-2 win over Albert Chien. Junior sabre fencer Eli Polston added a 5-4 win over Phillippe Guy.

The next round Vassar faced off against its Northeast Fencing Conference rival in Sacred Heart, and earned the win thanks to a dominant performance from the sabre squad. VC's sabre fencers went 8-1, as Polston was undefeated with three wins, while senior team captain Campbell Woods was also undefeated in his three bouts. Freshman Graeme Mills chalked up two victories as well, helping to give VC the win.

The Vassar epee team also earned a squad victory, chalking up five wins, including a pair of triumphs from Farley and junior Jonathan Alperstein. Junior Daniel Swerzenski also picked up a 5-3 win over sophomore Dante Centeno. In foil, Vassar's Noe Berger collected two wins, while fellow freshman Jack Holmes also booked a 5-3 victory over Julian Mallet.

Vassar's men's team would fence NYU next, and again the epee squad was strong, earning a team win with a 6-3 decision. Swerzenski finished with three wins, and Alperstein earned a 5-4 win over Alexandre Crepeaux and 5-2 victory over Malcolm Lewis. Polston and Eric Lee each earned one win in the third round in sabre, while Berger edged out Violet Yash Srivastav 5-4.

Against the seventh-ranked Tigers of Princeton, Vassar picked up six bout victories, including four from the epee team. Of those four wins, two came from Alperstein, highlighted by a 4-3 win over Alex House who finished fifth last year at the 2016 NCAA Championships. Farley also was 2-1 against the Tigers, recording 5-4 victories over Arjuna Subramanian and Wesley Johnson. Holmes earned another win at sabre, knocking off Raphael Sitbon-Taylor.

The fifth match of the day was against Penn State, as Vassar earned seven more wins over the No. 5 Nittany Lions. In foil, Holmes and junior Tom Racek each were 2-1, while Alperstein was an unblemished 3-0 against PSU. Of those three wins for Alperstein, the first was the most impressive, earning a 5-3 win over 2016 NCAA qualifier Patrick August.

In the finale for the Brewers, Vassar was able to knock off a very strong NJIT team, thanks to another standout performance from the epee fencers. Alperstein once again showed that he's becoming one of the best epee fencers in the region, going 3-0 with two wins over NCAA Regional qualifiers last season. For the day, Alperstein finished with 12 wins, most of all Vassar fencers.

Swerzenski also posted three more wins against the Highlanders, upping his daily total to seven, while Racek and Berger recorded two more wins in foil. Vassar's sabre team earned four bout wins against NJIT, with Polston earning two wins while Mills and Woods each chalked up wins over their own in the 15-12 win over the Highlanders.

Vassar will be off for the Holidays before returning to action in 2017 at the Cleveland Invitational January 21, hosted by Cleveland State University.