POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Vassar men's fencing team recorded a strong performance at the Vassar Invitational on Sunday. The Brewers went 6-2 over eight rounds in Walker Field House, with the foil squad highlighting the day with a 51-21 performance. Saber went 46-26, while epee was 44-28. Leading Vassar was sophomore Benjamin Lee who posted an 18-2 foil record.
The Brewers opened the day with a 22-5 victory against Yeshiva and then downed Hunter 25-2 in the second sound. In the third round, Vassar was tripped up 11-16 but rebounded with a 17-10 victory over Haverford. The Brewers won the next three against Lafayette (21-6), West Point (18-9), and Cornell (15-12) before falling 12-15 to Drew in the final round.
Conor Travaglione and Wolff Gilligan posted 15-5 marks at saber, while first-year Justin Lederer added three bout victories. Junior Nicholas Gayle also added a win. Travaglione posted 3-0 marks against Lafayette and Cornell while going 2-1 over Haverford, Stevens, and Drew. Gilligan scored 3-0 marks with Haverford, Lafayette, and Cornell, while going 2-1 against West Point.
In addition to Lee's squad-best record, senior Caleb Klein went 15-5, while first-year Alex Yim was 12-5. Also competing were sophomore Frank Ryan who won four bouts, sophomore Liam Inchoco, and senior Chase Estes, who each tacked on one win. Lee won 14 straight bouts before dropping one to Cornell in the seventh round. In one round, Klein only had a losing record and closed the day with a 3-0 mark against Drew in the final round.
Three epee fencers finished with double-digit wins in junior Jack Plumer (15-4), first-year Eli Weise (15-6), and senior Nishay Bhatnagar (12-8). Senior Alden Pierson Smela also got in on the action with a 4-2 record. Plumer held steady throughout the day, going undefeated against Haverford (2-0), Lafayette (3-0), and West Point (3-0). Weise picked up a 3-0 record against Hunter and West Point. After starting 3-5, Bhatnagar finished out the second half of the day at 9-2.
Vassar continues its season next weekend by hosting the Matt Lampell Hudson River Invite on Sun. Nov. 21 at Walker Field House.
