The New York University men's fencing team put together another outstanding season in 2009-10, highlighted by a 16th-place team finish at the NCAA Fencing Championships, as well as several strong individual performances.

Senior Sam Roukas (sabre), junior Byron Neslund (epee) and freshman Phil Jamesson represented NYU at the NCAA's, where the Violets' combined men's and women's teams placed the highest of all Division III squads at the competition.

Competing at the NCAA Championships for the first time, Jamesson won 11 bouts at the two-day competition and finished in 13th place in foil, the highest ranking for NYU. Roukas, who competed for the fourth time at the NCAA's in as many years on the team, also strung together 11 victories in men's sabre and finished 14th. Neslund, also qualifying for his first NCAA bid, had 10 epee victories and came in 15th place.

NYU posted a 10-13 dual-meet record in 2009-10, including impressive victories over NCAA division I squads from Columbia University, Princeton University and Boston College. The Violets also defeated their University Athletic Association (UAA) foe, Brandies University.

In addition to Roukas, who finished with an overall 39-14 record, other Violets fared well with sabre as their best weapon. Senior Jared Hammond had a 27-13 bout record, while junior Hugo Rodrigues, who had a 25-20 record, usually rounded out the sabre lineup for the Violets.

Neslund led the epee team in victories (32-25), while senior Andrew Stanco closed out a stellar career at NYU with a 29-33 record.

Jamesson showed great touch all season in foil, compiling a team-high 42 victories against only 19 losses. Fellow freshman, Ken Sin, compiled a 20-36 record in foil, while junior Oung-Jo Yuh had a 21-33 record.

“It was quite an accomplishment to have three NCAA qualifiers and to produce a top-16 finish,” head coach Steve Mormando said. “We were the highest Division III school in the nation. And, we had some great wins and some tough last-second losses during the season. It was a year of great memories.”

As a team, the Violets earned 12 UAA Athlete of the Week accolades over the course of the season, including six for Jamesson and three for Roukas.

The honors also continued to impress off the strip, as 15 team members earned UAA Winter Sport All-Academic accolades.