Led by fourth-year head coach Ben Bratton, the NYU men’s and women’s fencing teams went 20-11 and 21-12, respectively, last season. Represented by current sophomore Anup Banerjee and graduate student Maria Stamos, NYU finished 21st out of 33 teams at the NCAA fencing championships.
Since less than 50 schools across the country have fencing teams, NYU consistently faces off against Division I programs, like those at Columbia University and Duke University. Despite competing against schools with far more athletic resources and funding, the Violets still have lofty goals for the season ahead.
“We have the capacity to get 12 [fencers] to NCAAs,” Bratton told WSN. “If we’re raising the bar and reaching numbers that are above what we did before, then we’ll be in a good place.”
If the Violets are to meet Bratton’s expectations, they’ll need contributions from all areas of both rosters — that includes a competitive core of younger team members. NYU’s talented underclassmen include Banerjee, who went 37-14 with the foil, and sophomore Kayla Alcebar, who set a program record with 48 saber wins. NYU is still, however, led by its veteran fencers — on the men’s team, senior Farr Dickson, who enters the season with the fifth most foil wins in NYU history and senior Jerry Pan, whose 53 wins tied the NYU record for the most wins in a season with any weapon — are pushing the team to improve. The women’s team is similarly anchored by seniors Zara Sinha, Emily Luo and Sophia Dondisch, who enters the season with the fourth-most career epee wins in NYU history.
This roster is the first to include only fencers that have competed exclusively under Bratton — that cohesion will help the Violets as they focus on improving every day. The team is focused on spending as much time together as it can, whether that’s through working out on off days or eating dinner together after practice.
“Because we don’t have scholarships, the people that are here are only here because they want to be,” Dickson said. “I think that chip on our shoulder really helps us.”
Throughout his four years at NYU, Bratton has led by example, consistently competing in practices with his team. He has also brought in experienced assistant coaches like Alex Sourimto, who was a seven-year member of the Belarus National Fencing Team.
“Coach has always fit in,” senior Zara Sinha said. “As the days go by, I’ve seen him really become confident in his coaching, and I’ve also seen the results of that.”
With all the past individual and team success against some of the top schools in the country, the team is hoping for more fans to show up to their events and more recognition for their achievements from the school itself.
“We’re going against Princeton, Harvard and Notre Dame without much attention, so it does feel that we are a little overlooked,” Dondisch said. “You see NYU posting about other sports and the bleachers filling up with people, so I would love for that to also be the case with us.”
With limited external support, the teams have leaned on one another — pushing each other to improve and making each individual fencer’s success a shared goal. Unlike NYU’s other varsity sports, the men’s and women’s fencing teams practice together weekly at the fencing salle, a multipurpose room dedicated to fencing at the Paulson Center.
“The team is like a family,” Dondisch said. “It’s really grown to be a family where we support each other, not just through the sport but also outside of it.”
The Violets are only hosting one invitational this season — the George Kolombatovich Invitational on Feb. 25, 2026 at the Paulson Center. Dondisch and the rest of the team are expecting a big crowd to push them forward on their Senior Day against Columbia, Sacred Heart University and Vassar College.
“If we’re focused on fencing, I think we’re better than anyone in the country,” Bratton said. “Regardless of division, or if we’re Ivy League or not, if we stay focused, good things will come.”
Contact Matthew Singh at [email protected].