March 23, 2008

FAIRFIELD, CT - Dr. Thomas Vrabel, head men's fencing coach, announced today that four additional fencers have committed to attending Sacred Heart in the fall. This talented group of incoming freshmen include epeeists Travis Pereira and Justin Dion and saberists CJ Fleck and Dan Miller.

Travis Pereira is a 5'7" B rated epee fencer from Schreiber High School in Port Washington, NY. He is a member of the North Shore Fencers Club where he is coached by Vladimir Gofman and Attila Lukacs.

Justin Dion is a 6'4" D-rated epee fencer from North Attleboro, MA where he attends Bishop Feehan High School, the alma mater of Pioneer women's saber star Kayla Cronin. Dion placed first in the Massachusetts State High School Epee Championships this season and he led his epee squad to second place in the Massachusetts team HS championships. He is currently coached by Michael Olson at the Blackstone Valley Fencing Academy.

"We are very pleased that both Travis and Justin have decided to commit to joining the team next season," comments Dr. Vrabel. "They both bring a great deal of USFA and high school competitive experience. With the other epeeists on the squad (2008 New England Intercollegiate Champion Sean McGeveren, Kyle Dee, Nate Quigley and incoming A-rated freshman Nick Negron) all being about six feet tall, Travis brings a quickness and Justin a reach advantage that can be very helpful to the team next year. I look forward to this group working hard and being a contender to repeat as New England collegiate epee champions."

Joining the saber squad will be 6'2" CJ Fleck from Sicklerville, NJ. Fleck, a C-rated saberist, captained the St Augustine Prep saber squad this past season, where he placed sixth in the district Championships. He is a student of the prestigious fencing master Mr. Ma from the Fencing Academy of South Jersey.

Dan Miller is a 6'1" saber fencer from Pompton Lakes, NJ where he led the Pompton Lakes High School saber squad with a 32-6 record this season. Miller's performance earned him first team all-league and first team all-county status and he was the MVP of his high school team. A two-sport star in high school (soccer and fencing), Miller looks forward to concentrating on fencing while at Sacred Heart.

Miller and Fleck will be joining A-rated and internationally ranked Marty Williams and B rated Henry Crocker in the incoming class of saber stars.

"The team is indeed fortunate to have such a talented and deep saber class for the fall," says Vrabel. "In past years we had to rely on fencers from other weapons moving in to saber so that we could field a full team. While fencers such as Jay Manzella and Chris Fabio did a great job transitioning over, they were at times at a disadvantage while they learned a new position on the fly. This very strong crop of incoming freshmen will allow Jay to move back to his first love (foil) and will give us seven saberists."

These recruits will join junior Fabio and sophomores Mike DeRose and Adam Lupo in saber next year.

"We will now have depth at every position on the team, and as of today we will start the season with eighteen fencers on the team," continues Vrabel. "With the potential of a couple more top flight recruits still considering attending SHU in the fall, we could start the year 20 strong. The competition within the team will help us improve performances at a very high rate and the different looks that all the fencers will give each other will help our overall experience level."

"I am extremely pleased with athletic ability and work ethic that our seven incoming freshmen have shown and I expect them to make an immediate impact on the team. We should be contenders for the NEIFA championship next year and I would not be surprised if we send three or four fencers to the NCAA championships next season."