One afternoon last week, Vincent Paragano, head coach of the Drew University fencing program, parked himself on a plastic chair in the Simon Forum, where his athletes compete, and waited.
Moments later his phone lit up with the news: Five members of his men’s team had qualified for the NCAA Championships this week at Penn State.
A day later, Paragano learned that a sixth fencer would be going, too, replacing someone bumped because of possible exposure to COVID-19.
It’s the greatest showing in the 91-year history of the Drew program, according to the university. Over the years, the Madison school has sent only four fencers to the NCAA championships. The most recent was James Weiss in 2013.
The six men will compete against the nation’s top collegiate fencers, including Olympians, Olympic hopefuls and World Team members, from March 25-28, 2021.
Perseverance, practice and teamwork have paid off for these Drew University Rangers, according to Paragano, who has run the program for seven years.
“I think if you asked everybody in the program – men and women – what attracted them to the team, you’d come up with the word ‘family,’” Paragano said.
COVID shut down competition for the fall semester, cutting the season in half, to eight weeks. Teammates kept practicing during their down time, to help each other improve.
“That’s the key,” said Paragano. “To get everybody working together, rather than work against each other.”
Senior Luca Rampazzo qualified for the championships with a ranking of sixth among all men’s saber fencers in the country. His passion for fencing brought him from Padova, Italy, to the Drew campus in New Jersey.
He started fencing when he was 8 years old, after
seeing it showcased at the city center of his hometown. After that, Rampazzo was ready to take risks for the sport.
“I failed a year in high school, and the biggest part of failing the year was that my professor wanted me to focus on school over fencing and they said that they thought I wouldn’t go far,” said Rampazzo. “That is what pushed me to try so hard in fencing.”
Rampazzo’s goal this week is high: He plans to try his best to win.
For junior William Badrigian of Orange, CT, the road to the NCAA Championships hasn’t been exactly smooth, either.
Badrigian fell into the sport during elementary school. He said there’s never been a day where he hasn’t wanted to be at fencing practice. But he was forced to take a break last season, after tearing his ACL and meniscus in competition.
Badrigian spent nine months rebuilding his strength, but was set back again when the fall half of the season was cancelled by the pandemic.
He got off to a rough start when competition resumed. But against Division I competitor St. John’s on Valentine’s Day, everything clicked and he landed a position to fence foil representing Drew at the championships.
“I really didn’t think I was going to get this far,” said Badrigian, who said he wants to put on a good show when he fences this week.
“I don’t know if I’m going to win every bout. But I’m going to work harder than the guy across from me and if I can make him sweat, that’s a win,” said the foil fencer.
Julio Arias, a freshman from Panama City, Panama, will be fencing epee for the Rangers at the championships. He said one of his biggest challenges was getting through COVID, which forced training sessions to go virtual.
Like Badrigian, his season got off to a shaky start. But Arias bounced back to qualify for the championships with a ranking of sixth for men’s epee.
“I want to bring my best effort and a little bit more after,” Arias said.
Drew’s other qualifiers include saberist Eric Dreitlein, a junior from Little Falls; sophomore Michael DeSando, who transferred to Drew for the 2020-2021 school year to fence foil for the school; and Floridian EJ James, a freshman epee fencer.