Coaches

Tom Strzalkowski

Tom Strzalkowski began his fencing career in 1983 at the Richmond Fencing Club under the instruction of Maestro Wes Glon. He soon began focusing on sabre and, at the peak of his career, achieved the number one ranking in the United States. Tom was the National Junior Champion in 1989 and, between 1989 and 1997, he competed in numerous World Cup and World Championship competitions overseas, including tournaments held in Greece, Turkey, Hungary, Spain, France, Argentina, Cuba, Poland and Russia. Tom also was a member of the U.S. Olympic Fencing Team in 1996 in Atlanta.

Coached by:

Wes Glon, the six-time winner of Poland’s highest fencing honors in sabre and the U.S. Olympic Fencing Team coach in 1992 and 1996. He also is the coach of 11-time NCAA Champion Penn State.
Larry Pinkus, the nationally ranked sabre fencer and 2005 World Champion in Veteran’s 50-60 Men’s Sabre.

Competitions:

1996 U.S. Olympic Team Member
3 time Individual NCAA Champion
4 time All-American at Penn State
5 time U.S. National Team Member
Ranked #1 in the U.S. in sabre fencing, 1995
Team gold medalist at the World Pan Am American Team Championship in Argentina, 1995.
Achieved national “A” ranking.

Coaching:

Assistant Coach at the Air Force Academy, 2002-present
Penn State volunteer coach, 1995-1998
Worked with: Young fencers who went on to represent Penn State, University of North Carolina, and United States Air Force Academy at NCAA Championships.

Gregg Bramblett

Gregg Bramblett began his fencing career in 1979 as an inaugural member of the University of Nebraska – Omaha Fencing Club. Gregg was also a member of the Omaha Fencing Club, with his primary focus on foil.

After relocating to Colorado, Gregg joined the Mile High Fencing Club, fencing both foil and epée.

In 2009 Gregg joined the newly established Fencing Academy of Denver where he began fencing sabre. In addition to competing in sabre, Gregg is also an assistant coach at FAD, as well as the Clubs armorer.

Gregg also serves the Colorado fencing community as Vice-Chairman on the Executive Committee of the Colorado Division, of the United States Fencing Association.

Alex Kovacs

Alex Kovacs began his fencing career in 1981 at Buck’s County Academy of Fencing under the instruction of Maestro Mark Holbrow. In 1986, he began focusing on sabre. By the time he retired from “Open” competition in 1994, Alex was ranked 30th in Division I Sabre, the category in which Olympic prospects compete.

Coached By:

Jarek Koniusz, the former Polish National Team fencer and the 1989 silver medalist at the World Championships.
Vassil Etropolsky, the great Bulgarian fencer and a winner of the World Championships in 1983, and three-time World Cup Title.
Andy Ma, the former Olympian from China.
Nickolay Logatchov, the former two-time Belarus National Sabre Champion and two-time Soviet Union Sabre Champion.

Competitions:

Placed 1st overall in the Veteran’s Tournaments at the National Championships, 1992-1993.
Bronze medalist in the Nike World Masters Games in Portland, Oregon, 1998, and at the World Veterans Championships in Siofok, Hungary, 1999.
Placed fifth in the World Veterans Championships in Godollo, Hungary, 2000.
Silver medalist in the U.S. National Veteran’s Championships in 2007 and qualified to compete in the World Veterans Championships in Sydney, Australia, where he won the Bronze medal.
Three-time winner of the USFA National Senior Events Championships (1990, 1991, 1992)
Three-time winner of the USFA National Veteran’s Championships (1999, 2000 and 2001)
Consistent finalist in National Veteran’s Championships, placing first at the Kansas City Veteran NAC in 2000 and 2001, and winning the New Jersey Garden State Games Veteran’s and Open Championships in sabre in 1999 and 2000.

Coaching:

Buck’s County Academy of Fencing, in Lambertville, N.J.
Fencing Academy of South Jersey, in Cherry Hill, N.J.
Worked with: Young fencers who went on to represent St. Johns, Penn State and New York University at NCAA Championships.