POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (November 8, 2017) – The Vassar College men's fencing team entered the 2016-17 season with a realistic and attainable goal of earning the Northeast Fencing Conference championship, as the Brewers were sporting three strong weapon groups along with top-level talent across the board.
 
Unfortunately, the Vassar men's fencing team struggled during the first day of action in the Northeast Fencing Conference, settling for fifth-place in the conference. The five victories within the NFC was strong, but the team is hoping for more this season. The good news is that Vassar does return a very strong contingent of competitors, including senior and 2017 NCAA Championships qualifier Jonathan Alperstein.
 
Vassar has 15 returning members of the squad this season, and that continuity along with the experience from previous seasons will play a big part in helping VC reach its goals this season. Inherently though with the nature of the sport, individual goals will factor in, and many of the seniors are hoping to join Alperstein at the NCAA Championships this season.
 
That goal is within reach though, as senior sabre standout Eli Polston and many others have made that something to strive for. "I do think that NCAA's is a realistic goal," said Polston. "I know a lot of people want to follow in Jonathan's footsteps from last year and qualify for NCAAs."
 
EPEE
The epee team will remain one of the strongest groups on the squad for yet another season, as Alperstein returns to anchor the crew. Alperstein had another amazing year for the Brewers, earning NFC Second Team All-Star honors after going 15-6 within the conference. Alperstein was able to use that momentum at NCAA Regionals, propelling himself into the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, IN.
 
Alperstein will be assisted on the epee strip by a deep roster of seven fencers, though the starters look to be the same with the return of fellow seniors Daniel Swerzenski and George Whiteside. The 6-6 New Jersey native has improved every season at Vassar, and finished third overall at The Big One last weekend. Look for Swerzenski to have yet another strong season for the Brewers.
 
Whiteside was abroad during the first semester in 2016-17, but it didn't take long for Whiteside to get right back into the swing of things. The senior just missed out on an invitation to the NCAA Championships last year, and the motivation from last year's near-miss should push him to be even better in 2017-18.
 
Joining those three will be three freshmen, along with sophomore Roman Guglielmo, to form a strong and deep epee team. Guglielmo did not fence much due to the depth at the weapon last year, but last weekend was solid at The Big One, and could provide a solid spot starter for VC.
 
Freshmen Abram Gregory, Michael Jaklitsch and Luca Barton-Cain will also look to get reps for the epee squad, in what looks to one of the top weapon groups in the region.
 
FOIL
The foil team over the last few years has had stretches of brilliance, led by now senior Tom Racek, who returns for his senior year as one of the leaders on the team. Racek has worked hard over his time at Vassar in the weight room, and his dedication to improving on and off the strip is paying off now.
 
Racek will have plenty of help in foil this season for the Brewers, as Noe Berger, Michael Skolnick and Aaron Choi are all back after productive seasons in 2016-17. Last season, Vassar's foil team actually led all VC squads with 237 overall wins, as Berger accumulated 63 bout victories as a freshmen. Berger and Racek will lead the group again this season, but look for Skolnick and Choi to battle for that last starting spot.
 
Choi posted 14 wins last season as a freshman, while Skolnick was 19-14 as a sophomore. Both will get plenty of reps this year, as the top four for VC looks to be very good once again. Sophomores Ben Papsun and Corey DeLay are with the team for the first time this year, while junior Tom Possidente will rejoin the squad during the second semester after bring abroad in the fall and will give VC more depth.

Freshman Adlai Brandt-Ogman is another name to watch out for this season, as he posted Vassar's second-best foil finish at The Big One last weekend. Brandt-Ogman won four of his six pool bouts, adding an elimination round victory as well.
 
SABRE
The sabre team at Vassar College has been consistently the deepest squad over the last five seasons, graduating strong contributors yearly but replacing them with talented fencers either in their first seasons or that had been waiting for a full-time starting position. That is the case again in 2017-18, as VC returns two full-time starters in Eli Polston and Graeme Mills.
 
The strength doesn't stop there though, as senior Eric Lee finished fifth overall at The Big One last weekend to lead a sabre group that put four fencers in the top 14. Lee only won 17 bouts last season, but look for him to forge a bigger role as a senior.
 
Polston has been one of Vassar's top sabre fencers for the past three seasons, and returns as VC's top bout winner from last season with 76. Polston was VC's lone First Team NFC All-Star last season, winning 85.19 percent of his conference bouts as he went 23-4. Look for another big year out of the senior.
 
Mills moved into the starting lineup as a freshman last season, and was strong as he went 61-44. Mills is a consistent and steady starting option for Vassar, who should take another step forward as a sophomore, getting above the 70-win total.
 
Sophomore Nicholas Williams has made the transition from epee to sabre this season, while sophomore Ian Law has joined the team looking to make an impact as well. The coaching staff is also excited about freshman Evan Heintz, who finished 14^th at The Big One out of 71 fencers. He looks to be yet another strong up-and-comer for a sabre group that continues to pump out wins.
 
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The Brewers dual match season will get underway this upcoming Sunday at home, hosting the 2017 Vassar Invitational at 10 a.m.  in Walker Field House.