Bulldogs Down Vassar
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Yale men's fencing team kicked off the
new year with a 15-12 win over Vassar, on Monday Jan. 18. The
Bulldogs hosted the dual meet in the Seventh Floor Fencing Salon at
Payne Whitney Gymnasium. The victory indicates that the Elis have
not missed a beat since their sweep of the Brandeis Invitational
right before winter break.
Included in Yale's 15-12 victory was senior John Gurrieri's perfect
3-0 record in his foil bouts. Additionally, freshman Nathaniel
Benzimra led the revamped saber squad with a perfect 3-0 record of
his own.
The team was focused on using the meet to prepare for this
Saturday's NYU Invitational. With six participation schools, the
tournament will be the Bulldog's biggest and most challenging
before Ivy League competition begins.
"Everyone is happy that we won today but we have come away with
many lessons for the coming days of practice before NYU this
weekend," said captain Andrew Holbrook. "This meet was an
opportunity for us to get back into competition mode after the
winter break and that was important. We had a couple of great
performances today—both John Gurrieri and freshman Nate
Benzimra went 3-0 which were critical in our victory. We also want
to thank all the fans that showed up. Their intensity definitely
helped out on the strip."
The Bulldogs will next compete this Saturday at NYU.
Report by Arsi Sefaj '11, Yale Sports Publicity