Men’s Fencing Sets Sights On MACFA Title

First-year head coach Stephen Kovacs and the Stevens Institute of Technology men’s fencing team enter the 2009-10 campaign with hopes of continuing the program’s winning tradition while besting last season’s 14-10 mark. The Stevens roster boasts 13 underclassmen this season – including 10 freshmen – but despite the squad’s relative youth, the Ducks stand poised to produce one of the illustrious program’s most memorable seasons to date.

“This year we’re focusing on fundamentals. Sometimes it may seem a little slow for the experienced fencers, but I think everyone benefits from having better fundamentals,” said Kovacs. “It’s a young team, but not necessarily inexperienced. I expect fairly big things from them. They have been working hard and its starting to pay off. We’ve seen some of the pick-up in results as evidence of good work ethic and I have high hopes that we can take the overall MACFA Championship. There are strong teams that can beat us, but I think that if we do what we’re supposed to do, as well as we can, we can take it that day.”

Headlining a strong Stevens epee squad is sophomore Charles Steiner (Waltham, Mass.), a nationally ranked senior epee fencer, who captured gold at last season’s Middle Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association (MACFA) Championship – the first Stevens fencer to do so since Sascha Jerrentrup in 1999. Also returning to the Ducks’ are epee specialists, junior John Zheng (West Orange, N.J.) and senior captain Steven DiPaola (New Rochelle, N.Y.), who placed eighth at last year’s MACFA tournament before recording a 21st-place finish at the NCAA Regionals hosted by Drew University in Madison, N.J.

Shoring up the talented epee corps are standout freshmen Daniel Burke (Bedminster, N.J.), Billy Dannhauser (Norwalk, Conn.), and Ryan Megaro (Pennington, N.J.), along with Michael deKanter (Newburyport, Mass.), Thomas Loop (Scotch Plains, N.J.), and Mike Wolff (Berkeley Heights).

“Charles Steiner has really been extending his limits and is performing well,” Kovacs said. “We have the most depth on the epee squad. Behind Steiner, we have the ‘A’ rated Burke, DiPaola, Megaro, and Dannhauser in the mix – all solid performers.”

Sophomore Dzmitry Lamianski (Minsk, Belarus) returns to lead an equally talented sabre team that performed exceedingly well at last season’s controversial MACFA Championship. Lamianski, who became the first Stevens fencer since Stephen Chubb in 1987 to win the individual MACFA sabre crown, placed 12th at last season’s NCAA regional. Helping to solidify the sabre squad are seniors Mitchell Izower (Paramus, N.J.) and Brian Bay (Phillipsburg, N.J.), junior David Barth (West Chester, Pa.), sophomore David Gordon (Flemington, N.J.), and freshman Anthony Kosaka (Branchburg, N.J.).

“Dzimitry (Lamianski) is an extremely talented and competent fencer and he is training at a high level – on his own – over break. I have also seen tremendous improvement in David Barth. He has already beaten some strong, nationally ranked fencers this year, and could surprise a few sleeping giants,” explained Kovacs. “We also have some other members of the squad who are all going to see some playing time and can perform, like Gordon, Kosaka, and Izower. I think everyone is doing a fantastic job this year and I appreciate their efforts.”

Freshman Anthony Worthington (Falmouth, Mass.) will look to help fill the void left by departing seniors Ben Hochberg (’09) and Lowden Charles (’09) in an inexperienced but gritty foil team in transition. Hoping to step into larger roles this season are senior Amith Nayak (Great Meadows, N.J.), juniors Benjamin Rose (Wantage, N.J.) and Matt Schettino (Clinton, N.J.), and freshmen Matthew Hanni (Easton, Pa.) and Matthew Holinaty (South Plainfield, N.J.).

“Worthington is our standout ‘A’ rated fencer. He puts forth a ton of energy and brings a lot to the program. He’s a tremendous athlete as well and he’ll help lead the foil squad,” said Kovacs. “We lost two powerful starters last year so we have a little bit of a gap there, but we have a couple of good, young student-athletes coming up. We can eventually couple them with guys like Nayak and Schettino, and if they just do their job the others can help carry the load. That’s all we really need them to do and they are all more than capable of doing it. They are improving and possibly next year or the year after that, they should be in position to take over the reins themselves.

Stevens opens the season with the Temple Open on November 1 and a dual-match with New York University on November 12 before wrapping up play prior to the weekend recess with a trip to the Drew Invitational in Madison, N.J. to face The United States Military Academy, Cornell University, Hunter College, Stony Brook University, and New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Things don’t get any easier for the Ducks after the break with their first big test of the season set on January 23 at the New York University Invitational where they face Division I powerhouses, St. John’s University, University of Notre Dame, Ohio State University, Wayne State University, Yale University, and tournament host NYU.

“Right after break we have a big match at NYU against the top Division I schools,” said Kovacs. “Some of the best fencers in the country will be there – some of whom have world rankings. Almost all the starters there are tough and experienced competitors with national rankings. It will be a tough show for us, but if we can perform respectively it will really help our four best fencers’ chances to secure a bid to the NCAA Championship. It will be a tough show for us. However, if we can come away with some victories, it will really help our four best fencers’ chances to secure a bid to the NCAA Championship. If they do well at this tournament and the one in Princeton on February 7th, they’ll be in position. A strong performance at the NCAA Regionals could secure a coveted slot in the NCAA Championships.”

After the Stevens Invitational on January 31, the Princeton Invitational on February 7, and the Rutgers Invitational on February 21, the Ducks will travel to Madison, N.J. to participate in the 2010 MACFA Championships hosted by Drew University.