WELLESLEY, MA - The Vassar men's fencing squad returned to conference action this weekend, going 3-1 at the Northeast Conference Multi-Meet #3 on Saturday. The Brewers defeated UMass (22-5), New Hampshire (25-2), and Boston College (23-4), with the only loss to Sacred Heart (13-14).
Vassar opened against UMass, going 9-0 in foil, 7-2 in epee, and 6-3 in saber. In foil, Alex Yim and Benjamin Lee both went 3-0, while Chase Estes added a 2-0 mark. Caleb Klein subbed in the final set and won 5-3 to secure the sweep. The epee squad saw Nishay Bhatnagar go undefeated at 3-0, while Eli Weise and Jack Plumer tallied 2-1 marks. At saber, Conor Travaglione swept 3-0, and Wolff Gilligan was 2-0. Justin Lederer tacked on another victory for the Brewers.
In the second round, Vassar was edged 14-13 by Sacred Heart. The Brewers won saber 6-3 and epee 5-4 but fell 2-7 at foil. Travaglione handled the competition, recorded another 3-0 sweep, and Gilligan was 2-1. Lee gave Vassar its two foil wins. At epee, Bhatnagar earned three wins, while Weise added two.
The Brewers rolled past New Hampshire the following round. Vassar pulled off the clean sweep in epee and was 8-1 in foil and saber. The trio of Bhatnagar, Weise, and Plumer all went 3-0 over the Wildcats. Gilligan went 3-0 at sabre, while Travaglione and Lederer were 2-0. Noah Rudnet subbed in to get a win as well. Yim and Lee led the foil squad at 3-0, while Klein added a pair of victories.
The final round was all Vassar, seeing the foil go 9-0 against Boston University. Epee and saber squads also managed the 7-2 victories. Foil picked up another clean sweep with Yim, Lee, Klein, and Estes going undefeated. In epee, Bhatnagar and Plumer went 3-0 to help the foil team to an 8-1 triumph, while Pierson Smela added two epee wins for the Brewers against the Terriers. Sabre cruised to the 8-1 victory behind a 3-0 performance from Travaglione. Tian Hahn got in on the action going 2-1, while Rudnet was 2-1.
Bhatnagar wrapped up the day undefeated at 14-0, while Travaglione was also perfect at 13-0.
Vassar now heads to New York City to face Columbia and New York on Feb. 16. The start time is set for 6 p.m.
