Following a year's hiatus due to Covid-19, the New York University Men's and Women's Fencing teams are on the cusp of a return to action. Both squads will be competing at the Temple Open in Philadelphia, PA, this weekend.
Steve Mormando returns for his 34th season as Head Coach of the women's team and 33rd leading the men. Since taking the helm during the 1981-82 season, his squads have combined for 712 victories, earned 12 top-10 national finishes and won 25 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships.
Mormando's already-deep staff, which includes Ed Elterman, Lauren Willock Wunderlich and Sam Wunderlich, was bolstered prior to this season with the additions of Ben Bratton and Grant Williams as assistant coaches.
Bratton, a former All-American and eight-time member of the United States National Team, has won multiple medals in National and International championships and was the first African-American fencer to win a World Championship title.
Williams, the Violets' other first-year addition, is a recent NYU graduate and another Olympic contender. A saber specialist, he served on the reserve squad for the U.S.A. in the 2021 Olympic games in Tokyo.
"Our coaching staff is one of the most qualified in the country. I would match it up with any Division I program in the nation," Mormando offered. "We will do some amazing things with the great potential of our rosters."
Due to the pandemic, two new recruiting classes have joined the teams since the last competition, leading to an unusually high number of first-year student-athletes. That new talent is eager to get started.
"I really like what I'm seeing from the freshmen and sophomores," said senior Camron Daniel (Brooklyn, NY/Hunter College HS). "These guys are hungry. They work hard in practice and their eagerness to fence with the team truly shows. When I graduate, I feel good knowing I'll be leaving the team in the hands of people who love the sport just as much as I do."
The teams' schedules mirror each other, starting with this weekend's competition. The tournament will serve as an opportunity for the team to assess itself before the heart of the schedule begins.
"We fence one of the toughest schedules in the NCAA, so every tournament is one I look forward to," Mormando said. "For now, it is the Temple Open to see how our fencers are doing and what we need to improve upon."
From there, the Violets have a lengthy period of training before competition resumes at the Sacred Heart Tradition Tournament on December 5 in Fairfield, CT. In addition to crossing blades with host Sacred Heart, NYU will face St. John's University, the University of Pennsylvania and Penn State University.
"It's my first year on the team and I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone better," said freshman foilist Anna Marie Heiser (Canton, OH/Hun School of Princeton). "Since we come from all over the world, many of us have similar drills that were taught to us by coaches. But, it's exciting when there are drills that I haven't done before and attempt to try and execute them."
Next up will be the North American Cup (Dec. 12) and Circuit (Jan. 7-10) before the teams return to Philadelphia for the weekend of January 22-23 to compete at the University of Pennsylvania Invitational. There, 11 other colleges and universities will be ready for them with sabers, epees and foils drawn.
The Violets head to the Eric Sollee Invitational at Brandeis University on February 5, doing battle with the host Judges, Brown University, Tufts University, Boston College, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The teams remain in the Bay State for a dual meet with Harvard University the next day.
The final two meets of the regular season will take place close to home for the Violets, first with the Columbia University Tri-Meet (Feb. 10) followed by the LIU-Brooklyn Meet three days later.
There will be one more regular-season competition on February 20, at the Fairleigh Dickinson University Invitational in Teaneck, NJ.
The postseason begins with the NCAA Regionals on March 13, and, contingent upon the Violets' performance, will continue at the NCAA National Championships March 19-22.
The pandemic has delayed the teams' return, but they've remained determined and focused on the tasks ahead.
"I expect the younger fencers to bring energy and heart to both practice and tournaments alike," said senior saberist Bryan Moise (Spring Valley, NY/Paramus Catholic). "The younger fencers are the backbone of the team and should be prepared at any moment to take over, as they are the future of the program."
The COVID-19 hiatus is over. Let the games begin…
"Everyone in the world was affected by the pandemic and everyone has a story, including everyone at NYU," Mormando surmised. "That said, it is hopefully time to put that behind us and focus on the present and future."
