Sacred Heart
NCAA Championship
Six Fencers Selected to Participate in NCAA Championships
3/22/2021 12:00:00 AM | Men's Fencing, Women's Fencing
FAIRFIELD, Conn. — The Sacred Heart University fencing programs will be represented with six fencers chosen to compete in the 2021 NCAA Men's and Women's Fencing Championships, announced by the NCAA. This year's fencing championships will be held at Pennsylvania State University on March 25-28.
SHU will be represented by seniors Troy Kapitzke and Cameron Silver, first-years Domenic Bartolo and Vijay Ganta, alongside sophomore Lawrence Tan and junior Tia Petrides.
Kapitzke and Silver will both be competing in the epee event, Bartolo and Ganta in the saber, with Tan and Petrides battling in the foil.
In his fifth season, head coach Yury Molchan is excited about this selection of fencers heading to the tournament. The team has been diligently getting ready for the NCAA.
"We are almost complete with the preparation for the NCAA, just a couple practices left," Molchan stated. "One of the practices will be at the NCAA on Wednesday."
The last time the Pioneers qualified for the tournament was the 2017-18 season, where only Dante Centeno fenced, who is now the team's assistant volunteer coach. In the 2013-14 season, the program sent five fencers, which were the most Sacred Heart fencers selected.
"Being able to qualify [in the epee] and travel my senior year is a great way to end my college fencing career and getting to go with my teammates makes it all the better," Kapitzke said.
Women's fencing last had a student-athlete in the championship in 2015-16, where Julia Greene competed for her program-best third time.
"It is such an honor to be representing Sacred Heart University [in the foil] at the NCAA Fencing championships," Petrides said. "I get to work with the most supportive coaches and teammates while doing something I truly love."
Silver is thankful to be able finish his senior year in the epee event at the NCAA with the help of all the coaches in his career.
"I'm excited to represent SHU, Florida, Naples Fencing Academy and Yury," Silver stated.
Following his teammate's sentiments, Tan is honored to represent both America and the Philippines in the foil as a sophomore, alongside the other top schools in the country.
"The biggest honor though is representing SHU, the Philippines, Golubitsky Fencing Center and Florida," Tan added.
Newcomers Bartolo and Ganta trained hard in the saber by watching and adapting alongside Coach Molchan and their fellow fencers. "I'm excited to go alongside my teammates," Ganta added.
"I never imagined I could make it this far in my fencing career," Bartolo concluded. "I'm excited to represent SHU at Penn State and I'm just ready to prove myself on the strip."
Players Mentioned
