POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (January 27, 2017) – The Vassar College men's fencing team will open its 2017 Northeast Fencing Conference schedule Saturday morning, taking on Brandeis University, Tufts University, Boston College and Brown University in the first round of conference action. The Brewers are having a banner year, sitting just three wins short of tying the school record for wins in a season at 25.
 
Game Details
Opponent: at Northeast Fencing Conference Duals
Teams: Brandeis University, Brown University, Boston College, Tufts University
Site: Providence, RI – Brown University
Facility: Olney-Moe Margolies Athletic Center
Date: January 28, 2017
Time: 10 a.m.
Live Coverage: (Live Results)
 
Last Time Out: The Vassar College men were perfect at the Cleveland State Duals last Saturday, as the Brewers were untested for most of the day. VC knocked off host Cleveland State twice, and the closest match of the day was against the University of Michigan, as VC topped the Wolverines 17-10. With the six wins, VC moved to 22-4 on the season.
 
A Look At The Brewers:
 

• The sabre team was strong last weekend, going 5-1 on the day, thanks to some solid fencing from junior Eli Polston, who went 15-3 on the day.
• Squad mate Graeme Mills also chalked up 11 victories for the weekend, upping his total to 46 victories on the season.
• Three men's foil members earned double-digit win totals last weekend, led by junior Tom Racek and his 12-0 mark at Cleveland State.
• The foil group also saw freshman Jack Holmes go 12-1, while fellow newcomer Noe Berger chalked up an 11-2 mark on the day.
• On the afternoon, the foil squad was 44-10, earning all six squad matches while earning seven or more bout victories five times. Vassar's foil team has won 167 bouts this season, most of the three weapons.
• Sophomore Michael Skolnick has been steady as a reserve for the foil group, earning nine wins. Holmes and Racek lead the squad with 49 each.
• The Vassar epee team was 37-17 last weekend at Cleveland State, and has now posted 154 wins on the season in dual bouts. VC was 5-1 in epee rounds last weekend.
• Junior Jonathan Alperstein was 9-2 at Cleveland State, and leads the Brewer squad in total wins this year with 52. His win percentage is the best on the team among starters.
• Senior Ry Farley was 9-5 a week ago, while junior George Whiteside returned from his excursion abroad to finish 7-2 in his first action of the season.
• Last year, Vassar finished in third place in the conference, behind just Brandeis and Brown, so this weekend's action will be huge for their title hopes in 2016-17.

 
A Look At The Opponents
 

• The Brewers will battle three of the top four men's teams in the NFC this weekend, as Brown is the defending champion from last season. Brandies finished second and Boston College was fourth with seven wins.
• VC will take on the Judges in the opening round of action Saturday, and will be a rematch of last year's exciting 14-13 win by Brandeis.
• Junior foilist Guillermo Narvaez was 17^th at NCAA Northeast Regionals last year, and is 25-13 this season, while Trevor Filseth is 21-4 among six foilists with 20 or more wins.
• The Judges had three sabre fencers in the top 30 last year at Regionals, and will lean on the trio of Kyle Berney, Leon Rotenstein and Curtis Wilson this weekend. The epee group for Brandeis has struggled, going 58-86 this season as a while.
• Vassar will then take on Boston College, who lost its only NCAA Championships fencer from last year in Peter Wetzel in epee. BC will still be strong though.
• BC Freshman Zachary Hammer went 14-1 in foil at Brandeis December 5, including 3-0 vs. North Carolina. Hammer also went 3-0 vs. St. John's, including a win over two-time NCAA National Championship qualifier Andras Nemuth.
• The Brewers will take on the host Brown Bears next, who haven't fenced since the Brandeis Invitational on December 4. Brown is currently 3-2 in the NFC this year, falling to BC and Sacred Heart.
• James Yoon leads the Bears in NFC fencing action in epee, posting a 10-4 mark, sixth best in the conference.
• Umar Masood paces a strong foil contingent for Brown with a 12-3 mark, which has also seen Eduard Munoz-Sune and John Mayer also post eight wins apiece in NFC action.
• Alex Palabrica and Alex Catoya have the highest win percentages in the conference for sabre action among fencers with eight or more bouts.
• Tufts will open conference action this weekend, after going 2-8 in the league last year.

 
Up Next: The Brewers will travel to New Haven, CT next Saturday, February 4, taking on Yale University at noon in non-conference fencing action.