NORTHAMPTON, MA (February 7, 2016) – The Vassar College men's fencing team finished its Northeast Fencing Conference slate in convincing fashion Saturday afternoon, winning all five of its dual matches to finish third in the conference for the season. The eight wins for the Brewers in the NFC were the most since the 2010-11 season, when VC also won eight.

The Brewers started the day with the best win of the day, edging out rival Sacred Heart University in a thriller 14-13. VC then rolled through the rest of the day virtually untested, knocking off New Hampshire (24-3), Dartmouth College (20-7), Boston University (16-11) and the University of Massachusetts (24-3).

In the opening match, the sabre team was clutch in helping the Brewers get last the Pioneers, earning eight wins in the nine bouts. Eli Polston and Campbell Woods were amazing, earning three wins each, while senior captain Elam Coalson also chalked up two victories. Every win against the Pioneers proved to be crucial, so the two foil bout victories were big, as Jackson Dammann and Tom Racek each picked up a bout.

Needing just four wins in epee to clinch the match, the Brewers came through with just that amount, as George Whiteside led the epee team with two wins to push past SHU. Junior Ry Farley and sophomore Jonathan Alperstein also added a bout win for VC over the Pioneers. It was the first time since the 2009 season VC has defeated the Pioneers.

Against the University of New Hampshire, the epee team went 9-0, as Alperstein, Daniel Swerzenski and Justin Riley all earned all three of their bouts. In foil, Michael Skolnick was undefeated in three bouts, while Dammann added two more wins and Thomas Possidente earned his lone win of the afternoon. The sabre squad picked up eight wins, led by the three each from Polston and Woods, as Eric Lee went 2-1.

VC continued to roll against Dartmouth, again on the strength of the sabre team that went 8-1 against the Big Green. Lee was 3-0; Polston added two more wins and Woods stayed undefeated on the day with a 3-0 mark. Dammann was 2-1 against Dartmouth, as Tom Racek also chalked up two wins, and the epee team for Vassar went 6-3, led by the two wins from Alperstein.

Vassar was tested a bit against Boston University in the second to last match of the day, but a 7-2 mark in epee proved to be the difference for the Brewers. Farley and Swerzenski were each 3-0 against the Bulldogs, and Polston remained unbeaten in sabre with two more victories. Tom Racek led the foil team with three victories as well.

In the final match of the day against the University of Massachusetts, the epee team rolled to an undefeated 9-0 mark, as Alperstein was 3-0, Farley and Whiteside each went 2-0 and Swerzenski and Riley each added a win as well. Dammann and Racek doubled up with a pair of bouts, as did Skolnick in foil, while the sabre team earned an 8-1 win thanks to three bout victories by Coalson.

In all, the sabre team went 38-7 on the day, led by the 12-0 mark by Polston. Woods had a career day with a 12-2 mark Saturday, while Lee was 7-2 as well in sabre. In foil, Racek was an impressive 9-3, while Alperstein and Swerzenski each totaled nine wins for Vassar in men's epee. The epee group as a whole went 4-1, posting a 35-10 record.

Vassar will head into the city to face off against New York University and defending national champions Columbia University Wednesday at 6:15 p.m. in non-conference action.