MADISON, N.J. - The Drew University men's and women's fencing teams will embark on their 2019-20 campaigns hoping to build off of last year's 40-plus win seasons.
           
The Ranger women will see their first action this Sunday at Long Island University's Brooklyn campus against a tough field of Division I rivals including LIU, Farleigh Dickinson, NJIT and Wagner, as well as perennial Division III foes Wellesley and Hunter.
           
Moving into the new season, the women's saber squad will be led by team captain Emily Huber and junior Kayla Ogden. Huber earned the bronze medal at last season's NIWFA Championships. The squad will also benefit by the arrival of freshman Candace Zola.
           
Meanwhile, women's foil will have to find a way to make up for the graduation of Caitlin Kotz C'19. Kotz set a national collegiate record over her Drew career with 369 dual meet victories. The foil line will be anchored by senior Lydia Segal. 
           
"Lydia has pretty much been overshadowed by Caitlin for the past three years, but who wouldn't be?" said Head Coach Vincent Paragano. "Now, she finally has a well-deserved chance to show what she can do as our number one starter in foil."
           
Women's epee will feature a revamped line-up with the growth of sophomore Grace McCarthy and the emergence of freshman Sophia McGee as a starter.
           
"Sophie is a fine addition to the team. She works hard and really has a wonderful, competitive attitude," said Assistant Coach Andrew Pidhorodeckyj C'19. "It is not easy to step onto a team that expects so much. However, we think that she has the maturity to excel."
           
The men's team will swing into action on Nov. 10 when it opens its season at the Vassar Open in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.   
           
Men's epee projects to be the deepest, most improved unit. Senior Josh Ryan, sophomore Joe Storey, and team co-captain Topher Infinito will be counted on to score major victories. They are joined by a talented group of incoming freshmen including James Stevens, Anthony Jackson, Nicholas Beach, Francisco Perez, Nicholas Panarin, Hunter Rodell and Marc Urquilla. Jackson is coming straight off a medal-winning performance at the American Challenge ROC held at Simon Forum on Oct. 2.
           
The men's saber squad will be counting on top-notch performances from team co-captain Nathan Milgram and senior Sean Larson. The saber line-up will also have an decidedly international flavor with the addition of Luca Rampazzo from Italy.  Both Milgram and Rampazzo earned their way onto the medal stand at the American Challenge ROC.
           
"We have emphasized the physical strength aspects of the saber game over and over again in practice," noted Paragano. "Our players have made major strides to get into shape for the upcoming season. Practice has been especially fun to watch with the arrival of Luca. He has brought along a new set of European training techniques that will add to our knowledge base. His positive attitude has been infectious."
           
The Rangers' foil squad will be counting on the progress of junior Aleko Graham and sophomores William Badrigian and Drew Laun in their starting roles.  
           
"Right now, the biggest question marks that we have are in men's foil," added Paragano.   "I know that DJ [Damian Gulbin-Murphy] worked hard in the offseason to get ready to move into a starting spot. Plus, we added some fine talent in freshmen Michael George, Michael Bickford ,and Michael Schrock. However, we won't know how that all will work out until we face aggressive opposition. That is certainly coming down the pike, and soon."
           
Last season the men's team registered its first-ever 40-win season with a 41-13 record. The women's team was even better in recording its first-ever 40-win season with a 42-11 record. Now, it is time to see if they can keep up those winning ways.