Jan. 23, 2008

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - With a clean sweep of the weapons against Vassar Wednesday night at Payne Whitney Gymnasium, the Yale Bulldogs improved their dual meet record to 4-2 on the season. The foil squad took eight of nine bouts to pace the 20-7 win. The epee and sabre squads both tallied 6-3 victories.

The Bulldogs are now 2-0 at home, having beaten Sacred Heart, 15-12, on Dec. 8. The Elis will play host to the entire Ivy League on Feb. 3 for the Ivy League North Competition.

Yale Coach Henry Harutunian was particularly pleased with the foil squad's performance, citing the Vassar foil squad as its strength.

Sophomores Andrew Holbrook and John Gurrieri both recorded perfect 3-0 marks to lead the strong foil performance. Freshman Nathaniel Botwinick nailed down two victories of his own.

With the sabre, the Bulldogs were led by junior Sebastian Cano-Besquet, who also claimed three wins. Senior Bradley Broadhead went 2-1 on the day, while freshman Stephen Watty won once.

Junior Michael Pearce and senior Gabe Billings both won two of three bouts with the epee. Senior Steve Miller split his two bouts, and fellow senior George London picked up one victory.

The Bulldogs will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 26, when they travel to New York, N.Y. for the NYU Invitational.

Report filed by Nicholas Thorne '08, Yale Sports Publicity