POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (November 12, 2017) – Senior Annie Innes-Gold led the Vassar College women's fencing team to a 4-3 record with 20 individual bout wins Sunday at the Vassar Invitational in action from Walker Field House in the opening dual meet tournament of the season.

VC (4-3) dropped its opening match of the day 18-9 to Haverford College, before knocking off Queens College 18-9. VC fell 15-12 to LIU Post in the third round, dropping its fourth round match with Drew University 19-8. The Brewers battled back though to finish strong, sandwiching a 19-8 win over CCNY with 15-12 triumphs over Wagner College and Fairleigh Dickinson University.

In the first match of Sunday's action, Vassar's sabre team stood out as the group went 7-2 paced by three victories from Innes-Gold. Squad mates Lilia Hutchinson and Rose Parker each went 2-1 as well for the Brewers. In foil, junior Mirit Rutishauser added a pair of victories against Haverford.

In the second round, Vassar saw all three weapon groups earn wins, as sabre was 9-0 thanks to three wins apiece from Hutchinson, Innes-Gold and freshman Nicolea Dinelli. In foil, Rutishauser was 3-0, while Shannon Chen and Grace Han were both 2-1 in epee. Against the Pioneers of LIU Post, VC's sabre team once again shined, going 7-2 with three wins by the senior captain Innes-Gold. Foilist Zoe Morgan was 2-0 as well, while Rutishauser went 2-1.

In the fourth match of the day, Innes-Gold was 3-0 with Rutishauser going 2-1 for the Brewers. VC would find its footing though after the loss to Drew, as the foil team shined in a win over Wagner, going 8-1. Morgan and Rutishauser each chalked up 3-0 wins apiece, while freshman Brianna Piercy chalked up a 2-1 record. Hannah Gaven was 3-0 in epee for the Brewers, and Innes-Gold finished 2-1 against the Seahawks.

In a 19-8 win over City College of New York, VC got three wins from all three sabre fencers in Innes-Gold, Hutchinson and Dinelli, with Rutishauser going 3-0 in foil. Sophomore Ashley Kim was 2-1 in epee, while Morgan also added a 2-1 mark in foil. In the last match of the day, VC would outlast FDU thanks to an 8-1 squad win by sabre. Innes-Gold and Parker were 3-0 against the Knights, while Morgan and Rutishauser continued their solid days in foil with two more wins.

VC was paced individually by Innes-Gold and her 20-1 afternoon, as squad mate and fellow captain Hutchinson added a 13-7 day. Rose Parker was 8-4 for VC, while Dinelli won seven of her nine bouts for a sabre team that went 48-14 on the day.

In foil, Rutishauser chalked up a stellar 17-4 mark for the day with Morgan going 11-9 in foil. In epee, the team was fencing with three new competitors but saw Gaven lead the way with five victories. Grace Han and Kim each won four bouts as well for VC in epee.

"Sabre did wonderfully and I was happy that Lilia Hutchinson was able to win a great comeback bout while President Bradley was cheering her on," said head coach Bruce Gillman. "Harder day for foil and epee as we had some brand new fencers learning on the strip, but all met or exceeded my expectations for their first team tournament and I look forward to next week at the Lampell."

VC is back in action Sunday, November 19 at 10 a.m., hosting the Matt Lampell Hudson River Invitational in Walker Field House. VC will honor its three seniors prior to the day's festivities for Senior Day.