FAIRFIELD, CT – The Vassar men's fencing team closed 2019 with the competitive Sacred Heart Invitational on Sunday, going 2-4 on the day against a field of mainly Division I opponents. The sabre squad led the Brewers with 29 bout victories, while senior Graeme Mills (Boston, MA) led Vassar with 11 individual sabre wins.

The Brewers opened against Brown, falling 12-15. The sabre trio of Mills, junior Evin Heintz (Pearland, TX), and freshman Conor Travaglione (East Northport, NY) posted a 6-3 victory against the Bears. All three of them went 2-1 in the opening bout. Foil and epee both dropped 3-6 decisions, but Adlai Brandt-Ogman (South Salem, NY) went 2-1 in foil, while junior Abram Gregory (North Smithfield, RI) was 2-1 at epee.

Vassar then defeated Sacred Heart 18-9 in the second round. The Brewers won epee 5-4 and completely swept sabre at 9-0. Foil lost 4-5 to the Pioneers. Vassar's three sabre fencers all went 3-0. Then at epee, Michael Jaklitsch (Saint James, NY) and Gregory posted substantial marks at 2-1. Freshman Jack Plumer (Bel Air, MD) went undefeated at 1-0. Senior Noe Berger (Brooklyn, NY) tallied a 2-1 foil mark in the second round.

Vassar fought hard the next two rounds, but ultimately fell 6-21 to NYU and then 5-22 to Princeton. The Brewers almost edged NYU at foil behind Caleb Klein's 3-0 mark but were tripped up 4-5. Princeton rolled past Vassar's foil and epee squads, but the Brewers did manage a 5-4 sabre victory over the Tigers. The Brewers then fell 8-19 in the fifth round to Penn State. Epee won 5-4 with a 1-0 mark from Jaklitsch and a 2-0 showing by Nishay Bhatnagar (Livingston, NJ). Freshman Alexander Moyse (Montclair, NJ) recorded a 2-1 score as well.

The Brewers closed out the final round with a 16-11 victory over NJIT. Foil went 8-1, while sabre was 6-3. Epee fell 3-6. At foil, both Klein and Brandt-Ogman were 3-0, while sabre had 2-1 victories from Heintz and Mills.

Vassar returns to action after winter break on Jan. 19 for the Vassar Invitational.