The New York University men's fencing team competed at the Vassar College Invitational in Poughkeepsie, NY, on Saturday, Dec. 6.

The Violets faced off against three ranked opponents (according to the USFCA national poll): #1 Penn State University, #4 Harvard University and #8 Princeton University, as well as Sacred Heart University and host Vassar. NYU won two of its five matches at the competition, and are now 3-4 for the season in dual-match competition.

The team started off the day with a 15-12 win over Sacred Heart. Foilist Alexander Kao led the way with a 3-0 mark, while Byron Neslund, Ricky Woodward and Andrew Stanco all posted 2-1 records in epee.

NYU then dropped their next three decisions, falling 17-10 to Vassar, 14-13 to Princeton and 15-12 to Penn State.

But, the Violets rebounded to record a victory over Harvard. The win was marked by another 3-0 outing by Kao in foil, as well as 2-1 showings by Neslund in epee, and Sam Roukas and Hugo Rodrigues in sabre.

Kao was the top performer of the day for NYU, finishing the tournament with a 12-3 record and going undefeated against three schools.