NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Vassar men's fencing team faced tough competition at Columbia University's George Kolombatovich Historical Meet on Wednesday evening at the Dodge Fitness Center. The Brewers fell to NYU and Columbia but had some solid individual success.

The Vassar men fenced NYU first and dropped the 22-5 decision to the Violets. The foil team battled to a 4-5 loss. Saber lost by a 1-8 mark, while the epee squad fell 0-9. Sophomore Benjamin Lee (Tacoma, WA) led the foil squad at 2-1 against NYU. Lee first defeated Andrew Sledeski 5-3 in the first bout and then won 5-2 over Bryce McClain in the second. Senior Caleb Klein (Chappaqua, NY) also was 2-1, winning his second and third bouts. Klein picked up a 5-4 win against Pel Olson and then was 5-1 against Sledeski.

Sophomore Wolff Gilligan (New York, NY) earned the sole saber win by defeating Zachary Schindler by a close 5-4 mark.

The Brewers fought well against the host Lions but were tripped up 8-19. Epee bounced back after the sweep, winning 5-4 over Columbia. Saber lost by a 2-7 decision, while foil was downed 1-8. First-year Eli Weise led the epee squad by going 3-0. He first defeated Columbia's Ethan Chin 5-2 and then slipped by Julian Maldonado 5-4. Weiss finished the night by winning 5-3 over Noe Schouker. Junior Jack Plumer (Bel Air, MD) tallied two Vassar wins. He opened with a 5-2 victory over Maldonado and then defeated Timothy Lim 5-0 in the third bout.

Gilligan won a 5-4 victory against the Lions at saber, while first-year Noah Rudnet (Oyster Bay, NY) won 5-4 in the third round over Jackson McBride. Lee recorded the one victory at foil and won 5-1 against his opponent.

Vassar hosts the EWFC Championship next at Walker Field House on Sun. Feb. 20 at 9 a.m.