Charlton, Blue Fencing Coaches Earn NFC Coaching Staff of the Year Honors

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Wellesley College fencing interim Head Coach Rob Charlton and the Blue coaching staff have been named the 2019-20 Northeast Fencing Conference (NFC) Women's Team Coaching Staff of the Year. The honor, bestowed by the coaches and captains of the conference in recognition of excellence in coaching, is the second consecutive for the Blue.

"I'm tremendously honored, humbled, and grateful for being named Coaching Staff of the Year by our colleagues and competitors in the Northeast Fencing Conference," said Charlton. "This award is especially meaningful since it is the second year in-a-row Wellesley has won this award, but my first year in the role of head coach."

Charlton and assistant coaches Andrew Fischl and Elif Soyer Sachs guided Wellesley to a third place finish in the NFC with nine bout victories in 12 NFC match-ups. The Blue posted a 3-3 record at the opening NFC Conference Meet on November 17 and a perfect 6-0 mark at the team's final NFC appearance on February 9. Wellesley's three NFC losses were all by just one bout each.

Wellesley posted a 24-7 record in all team competitions in 2019-20, setting the program record for wins in a season. The Blue also captured the Three-Weapon title at the NEIFC Championships for the second-straight season.

"I feel extremely fortunate to have Andrew and Elif working towards the development of our fencers," said Charlton. "Their knowledge, passion, and commitment were huge contributions to our record-setting year for the program."

Individually, three members of the team earned NFC All-Star honors during the 2019-20 season. Senior Brie Maurer (Fredericksburg, Va.) earned a third career honor and a spot on the NFC Foil Second Team, while unior Julia Calventus-Coveney (Barcelona, Spain) earned her third career honor and joined first year Kimberley Kimura (Los Angeles, Calif.) on the Second Team in Epee.

A coach with the Blue fencing program since 2002, Charlton has now been honored with NFC Coaching Staff of the year accolades three times while at Wellesley (2008-09, 2018-19, 2019-20). Charlton was also part of the NFC Coaching Staff of the Year at Tufts during the 1998-99 season, where Soyer Sachs was the co-head coach. Fischl, a collegiate fencer at Vassar, just concluded his first season as a collegiate coach. 

Wellesley Athletics strives for excellence at the conference, regional, and national levels, while providing opportunities for students to achieve their potential and learn the values of discipline, leadership, critical thinking, and responsibility to oneself and others.