CHESTNUT HILL, MA (January 28, 2018) -- The Vassar College men's fencing team opened Northeast Fencing Conference action Sunday afternoon from the Flynn Recreation Center on the campus of Boston College, as VC posted two dual meet wins over Massachusetts Institute of Technology (14-13) and Tufts University (21-6). After earning the first two matches of the day, VC would drop the following three in losses to Boston College (14-13), Brandeis University (23-4) and Brown University (15-12). 

The Brewers foil and sabre teams were strong in the opening match of the day against MIT, led by six victories by the foil squad. Senior Tom Racek posted two wins for Vassar (19-12), while both freshman Adlai Brandt-Ogman and sophomore Noe Berger each collected two wins as well. VC's sabre team earned a 5-4 win, thanks to three wins from senior Eli Polston along with victories by senior Eric Lee and Graeme Mills as well. In epee, senior Daniel Swerzenski earned victories in all three of his bouts.

In the second match of the day, VC had no trouble with the Jumbos of Tufts University, led by the eight victories by the Brewer foil team. All three weapon groups earned victories against Tufts, starting with an 8-1 decision in foil thanks to three wins apiece from Michael Skolnick and Racek. The epee team earned three victories from freshman Abram Gregory, while seniors Jonathan Alperstein and Swerzenski each collected two bout wins. The sabre team saw Polston once again go undefeated, while Mills was 2-1 against Tufts. Nicholas Williams also earned a win against Tufts in sabre. 

Coming into the day, host Boston College led the conference standing and Vassar gave BC all it could handle but a 7-2 score in favor of the Golden Eagles pushed the hosts to the 14-13 win. VC epee team chalked up seven wins thanks to three apiece from Alperstein and freshman Michael Jaklitsch, and senior George Whiteside also claimed a 5-2 win to finish the round against Thomas Ferrante. 

In sabre against BC, Mills continued his strong fencing with a 3-0 mark while Polston also earned a 5-2 win in the first bout of the round. Sophomore Noe Berger and Racek picked up the first two bouts in foil to take a 2-0 lead, but BC responded with seven bout wins including a 5-4 victory with the squad score tied at 4-4 to push the Golden Eagles to the match win. 

VC struggled against Brandeis in Round 4, led by two wins by Alperstein and one by Gregory in epee along with one victory by Racek in foil. In the final match of the day, Vassar battled hard against Brown University, but Brown's strong performance in epee pushed the Bears to the win. VC's foil team went 5-4 for the squad win, rallying from a 2-0 deficit thanks to two wins each from Berger and Racek along with a single victory from Brandt-Ogman. 

In epee, Alperstein was 2-1 while sophomore Roman Guglielmo also finished with a win in his only bout of the match. In a competitive sabre round, Polston earned a 2-1 mark with Mills and senior Eric Lee each capturing one wins apiece. 

The Brewers will now look forward to next Saturday on the road, taking on Yale University in New Haven, CT at noon in non-conference fencing action.