STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Wagner fencing teams will send a new program-record 22 athletes to the 2026 NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regionals in Haverford, PA. Nine fencers will make their postseason debut.
"We're excited to be taking our largest number of qualifiers in program history to Mid-Atlantic/South Regionals" head coach
David Sierra said. "It's a testament to how hard our student-athletes have worked this past season."
The men's team will send 11 fencers to the regionals, including junior sabrist
Flavio Vinci, who was the only Seahawk last season to make it all the way to nationals. He will be joining three other sabrists in this season's regionals; juniors
Charlie Dolan and
Theodore Huston, and senior
Noah Beitel.
For the foils, freshman
Jakub Vrtilek will make his regional debut after posting a 40-35 total record. Joining him will be senior
Diego Lara and sophomore
Emiliano Renteria, each making their return to the qualifying rounds.
To round out the men's team, sophomore
Daniel Ojeda and junior
Isaac Oden will represent the epee squad. They will join two regional newcomers, freshman
Jackson Wheeler and sophomore
AJ Sako.
The women's team will also send 11 fencers to Haverford, including all four members of the epee squad. Senior
Sofia Lopez Meneses, and sophomore
Maria Lopez Meneses will be returning to regionals together for the second season in a row. The two sisters will join freshmen
Ana Margarita Paredes and
Ashley Pullara, both of which are competing in their first regionals.
Paredes qualified with 41 wins, the most on the women's team and the second most among all of this year's qualifying fencers (Vinci, 44).
Only two foilists qualified from the women's team. Junior
Renata Ziganova, who had the second most wins on the women's team with 39, and freshman
Alyssa Cullen, who qualified for her first ever regionals.
The women's sabre squad will send the most fencers with five. Led by senior captain
Fanny Straub, she is joined by two regional returners, juniors
Villo Nyiri and
Morrigan Adams. Freshmen
Sydney Brock and
Louann Perrier will join them, making their first ever regional appearances.
Sako, Huston, Adams and Cullen all clinched their qualifications at the Shark Showdown in Brooklyn, the team's final event of the season.
The NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regionals will begin on Saturday, March 7.
