MADISON, N.J. - The Drew University women's fencing team finished the fall semester portion of their 2019-2020 competitive season with a strong 7-1 home performance at the Drew Holiday Invitational on Sunday in the Simon Forum.
That performance raised the team's overall season record to 24-4 for an .857 winning percentage.
The day featured convincing wins against University of Florida (21-6), Denison University (18-9), Hunter College (20-7), Army (18-9), Long Island University (18-9) and Yeshiva University (24-3), along with a squeaker against Wagner College (14-13). The lone loss of the day was at the hands of Stevens Institute of Technology (17-10).
Once again, the saber squad was the top weapon group, going 48-12 overall (80% winning percentage).
"So far this season, we have relied heavily on our sabers to keep us in matches and to help us win the close ones," said Head Coach
Vincent Paragano. "Our epee and foil fencers have been improving. Once we get all three squads performing at their top ranges, we should be in shape. It is going to be exciting to see."
Top Performers
Saberists
Kayla Ogden (16-3 on the day),
Emily Huber (14-1) and
Candace Zola (12-6) turned in dominant showings. Sophomore
Olivia Yepez had her best competitive day of the season en route to a 6-2 performance.
Every member of the foil squad registered at least two victories.
Lydia Segal (16-2) had the highest win total. Sophomore
Lauren Rusk overcame an ankle injury to finish with a convincing 12-6 record. Meanwhile, freshman
Sophia McGee was the leading epee fencer with a 9-4 record.
Coming Up
The women's team will return to action in the new year at the Army Invitational at the United States Military Academy on Jan. 18 and at the Philadelphia Open on Jan. 19.
Paragano Eclipses the 300 Win Mark
The victories of the men's and women's teams on Sunday helped Paragano register the 300th dual meet victory of his tenure at Drew. His coaching win total now sits at 315.
Paragano arrived as a volunteer coach in the beginning of the 2014-2015 season after forming and leading the Bernards (N.J.) High School and Governor Livingston (N.J.) High School fencing programs to multiple state and conference championships. He was named Fencing Coach of the Year in 2009 by the
Newark Star Ledger and was honored as Coach of the Year by the New Jersey Interscholastic Fencing Association three different times. His 2013-2014 Bernards High School team was even featured in the documentary
"Fencing for the Edge" (
www.fencingfortheedge.com).
After the departure of his predecessor midway through the 2014-2015 season, Paragano was thrust into the Rangers' head coaching position on an interim basis. After a nation-wide search, Paragano was elevated to full-time head coach for the start of the 2015-2016 season.
"If you told me when I took over the reins that our program would have 300-plus victories in just over four full seasons, I would have laughed at you," said Paragano. "We were literally the laughingstock of our men's and women's conferences at that time. But nobody is laughing at us now. The 300-win mark is a testament to the efforts of our coaches, a lot of trust and support from our athletics department and a whole lot of hard work by our student-athletes. Now, our focus has to shift to contending for championships. It sounds crazy, but so was a prediction of 300 wins four years ago."
Along the way, he has been named 2016 Coach of the Year by the Eastern Women's Fencing Conference and 2018 and 2019 Coach of the Year by the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association.
"I never went in to coaching to achieve win totals," added Paragano. "I just wanted to play and coach the sport and teach young people the important life lessons that this sport provides. Fencing is my passion. The wins just followed the passion."
