World-class epee coach Kornel Udvarhelyi is in his 18th season as an assistant fencing coach at New York University. He served on Head Coach Steve Mormando’s staff from 2001-04, then stepped away for the 2004-05 season. He returned the following year and has remained with the program ever since.
During his tenure with the program, the Violets have recorded a top-25 national finish each year.
The 2019-20 season featured several milestones as the women’s team recorded a program-record 18 victories, while the men won 20 (the second-most in team history), including a win over defending National Champion Columbia University. Though the NCAA National Championships were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, four fencers who qualified were still honored as All-Americans: juniors Sam Bekker (epee) and Zohaib Mannan (foil), and freshmen Brian Kim (sabre) and Darren Yen (sabre).
The 2018-19 season produced another top-20 national finish for NYU’s combined squad at the NCAA Championships as the Violets finished in 17th place, highest of all Division III teams. Four fencers qualified for nationals, with Mickey Bak producing the best individual finish (16th place-saber). The men’s squad finished with a 13-12 match record, its fifth-straight winning season, while the women produced double-digit victories (14-17) for the third consecutive season.
In 2017-18, the teams combined for a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the highest among non-Division I participants for the fourth consecutive season. Additionally, Mannan and Grant Williams earned All-America honors. The men’s team finished with an overall record of 21-9 while the women’s team ended with a 13-15 record.
In 2016-17, Udvarhelyi helped lead the combined men’s and women’s squads to an 11th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, which was the highest among all Division III programs and the best overall finish for NYU at the national event since 2005 (ninth place).
NYU sent seven fencers to the NCAA Championships and produced two All-Americans: Williams and Philip Shin. Williams tallied 15 wins in saber to place sixth in the weapon a year after landing in 17th place as a freshman. Shin doubled his victory total from the previous year, collecting 12 victories in foil to secure 12th place.
The men's team finished the season with an 18-8 record, including six straight victories to end the campaign. The women's team posted a 13-14 record, including a 5-1 mark at the University of Pennsylvania's Philadelphia Invitational.
In 2015-16, Udvarhelyi helped the men to a 14-8 campaign and the women to a 7-13 record. The squad had a 13th-place finish at the NCAA Championship, the highest among all Division III programs.
In 2014-15, the men’s squad finished with an 11-10 record as one of Udvarhelyi’s fencers, John Cramerus, finished 20th in epee at the NCAA Championships. Along with foilist Daniel Sconzo, who also finished 20th in his weapon, the duo’s performances lifted NYU to a 19th-place finish nationally, the highest of any Division III school.
The women’s season was highlighted by the performance of Audra Fox, another foilist who led the squad with 31 victories and finished 14th at the NCAA East Regional Championships.
The 2013-14 season was another successful campaign for the Violets, as Christian Vastola and Andrew Kelly represented NYU at the NCAA Championships. Vastola finished 22nd in foil, while Kelly placed 24th in saber. Their combined efforts helped lead NYU to a 23rd-place finish in the overall team standings.
The 2012-13 campaign was a continuation of the program’s success, as three student-athletes qualified for the NCAA Championships. Phillip Jamesson, Jackie Leval and Kelly combined to give the Violets an 18th-place finish in the overall team standings, good for second among Division III schools.
In 2009-10, Udvarhelyi helped coach epeeist Byron Neslund to a 14th-place finish at the NCAA’s. Sam Roukas (saber) and Jamesson (foil) also represented NYU as the Violets’ combined men’s and women’s teams placed the highest of all Division III squads at the competition, coming in 16th place overall.
During his first campaign at NYU in 2001-02, the squads combined for an 11th-place national finish.
Udvarhelyi, who was named U.S. National Epee Coach in 2003, joined the NYU staff after coming to the United States from his native Hungary. While at NYU, the Violets’ men’s team won UAA Championships in 2002 and 2003, while the women’s team won the title in 2003 – the last season the UAA Championship was held.
Udvarhelyi earned a college degree in 1995 as an expert fencing coach at the College of Physical Education in Budapest, Hungary. While there, he pioneered a project that analyzed the biomechanics of fencing actions using multimedia technology.
Throughout the 1990's, Udvarhelyi worked with Hungarian fencers in epee and foil at all levels from grassroots training programs to preparing fencers for the World Cup. In March 1998, he was named the Hungarian Junior National Men's Epee Coach, a position he held until coming to the United States in 2001.
Since his arrival in New York, Udvarhelyi has coached at the New York Fencers Club, where he has built a high-level epee program.
Udvarhelyi currently resides in Queens, NY.
