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Men's Fencing Set to Begin 2010-11 Season
The Stevens Institute of Technology men’s fencing team will begin the 2010-11 season with high hopes and a new leader in Marcos Lucchetti, who returns to the collegiate ranks after half a decade of success at the club level. The Ducks return six of their eight NCAA regional qualifiers from last season and are poised to make a run at qualifying for nationals. The team will begin its season Sunday, November 7 at the Temple Open in Philadelphia.
New head coach Marcos Lucchetti is eager to begin his first season on Castle Point, the 66th in the program’s history. “I love being here,” he said. “Our student-athletes are training hard, pushing themselves and making the extra effort both in our practices and in the classroom. Regardless of results this year I’ll be happy when I know we’ve given it our all.”
At sabre, senior David Barth has been named captain, and fellow NCAA regional qualifiers Dmitri Lamianski and David Gordon – both juniors - make up an extremely strong starting three.
“I feel like David has been very responsible so far, he sets a good example and he has certainly deserved the honor of the captaincy,” said Lucchetti.
Last season, Lamianski finished seventh in the region and was champion of the Middle Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association, while Barth was 14th and Gordon 16th in the regional tournament. “I’m excited to see what this group can do,” said Lucchetti. “We have a lot of talent there.”
In epee, junior Charles Steiner and sophomore Danny Burke will form a potent one-two punch at the front of the lineup. Both epeeists qualified for the NCAA regionals last season and placed among the Top-20 finishers there.
In addition, Steiner and Burke have been the victors in the last two Middle Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association Championship Tournaments, with Steiner winning the event in 2009 and Burke taking the title home last season.
Sophomore Anthony Worthington will headline the returners on the foil squad. Worthington finished in the Top-20 of the NCAA regionals in 2009-10 and, according to Lucchetti, “is truly improving every single day.”
The Ducks expect to benefit from Lucchetti’s proficiency with all three weapons, as he can expertly instruct all the team’s student-athletes, no matter which weapon they specialize in. For his part, Lucchetti states that the transition to Stevens and back to the collegiate level has been a smooth one: “It’s gone very well, it’s a great environment and our fencers have been working hard. I feel comfortable here and cannot wait to get our competitions underway.”
The Ducks will begin their season on Sunday, November 7 at the individual Temple Open, before beginning team competition with a dual match at New York University on November 9. The first multiple-team tournament will take place on November 14 at Vassar College.
Stevens will host the University of Virginia, the College of William & Mary, Lafayette College and Haverford College in its only home meet of the year on January 30, beginning at 10 a.m.
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