In this episode of First to 15, we're joined by Laura Decker, one of the top fencing referees in the country and regularly chosen to officiate at the highest levels of national and international competition. 

She was recently the lone American referee at the 2022 Fencing World Championships in Cairo, Egypt.

Laura graduated from Caltech, where she was the first female fencer from that school to qualify for the NCAA Championships. She still competes in saber alongside her role as one of the world’s most respected officials.

In this episode, we asked Laura how she became a referee, how she keeps her officiating skills sharp and the "feedback" she gets from coaches and fencers while refereeing. 

• Visit the USA Fencing website
• Follow USA Fencing on Instagram
• Read a transcript for this episode

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First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing

Host: Bryan Wendell

Cover art: Manna Creations

Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn

In this episode of First to 15, we're joined by Eric Momberg, head coach of the fencing team at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. 

Before Eric joined the Vikings of NCAA’s Division III, he was an assistant coach for the women's team at Northwestern University, where he earned Coach of the Year honors and led the Wildcats to two conference championships. 

Before that, he coached fencers to more than 60 medals at North American Cups, also known as NACs. It's safe to say, he's found coaching success at all levels of fencing. Today, we're going to ask Eric about his own story about collegiate fencing, of course, and what juniors and cadets need to know about the college recruiting process. 

• Eric Momberg's Lawrence University bio
• Visit the USA Fencing website
• Follow USA Fencing on Instagram
• Read a transcript for this episode

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First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing

Host: Bryan Wendell

Cover art: Manna Creations

Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn

In this episode of First to 15, we're joined by Sylvie Binder, a recent graduate from Columbia University who had an impressive collegiate career, including being named a first-team All-American three times and winning both the NCAA team championship and the NCAA individual women’s foil title in 2019.

She graduated in 2022 and was the Ivy League’s nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.  

As if that didn’t keep her busy enough, Sylvie also graduated with a 3.91 GPA, coached fencing at a local middle school and participated in a panel of elite female fencers to discuss mental health.

• Follow Sylvie on Instagram
• Visit the USA Fencing website
• Follow USA Fencing on Instagram
• Read a transcript for this episode

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First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing

Host: Bryan Wendell

Cover art: Manna Creations

Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn

In this episode of First to 15, we're joined by "The Fencing Coach" himself, Damien Lehfeldt. 

Damien has been writing The Fencing Coach blog since 2012. That’s the same year he helped coach Team USA’s Suzanne Stetinius to the London Olympics in Modern Pentathlon. He’s now a coach at Nova Fencing Club in Virginia.

Damien is a former epee fencer who had a successful career at Brandeis University, where he graduated in 2009, and he later won gold in the men’s epee team event at the 2012 North American Cup.

On top of all that, he’s the strategy and data lead for the Team USA national epee team. We’re going to talk about what that means and more in today’s episode.

• The Fencing Coach website
• The Fencing Coach on Instagram
• Visit the USA Fencing website
• Follow USA Fencing on Instagram
• Read a transcript for this episode

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First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing

Host: Bryan Wendell

Cover art: Manna Creations

Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn

In this episode of First to 15, we're joined by Phil Andrews, CEO of USA Fencing. 

Listen for a frank and entertaining conversation about Phil's time as an ice hockey player, what he's most proud of from his time as CEO of USA Weightlifting, his commitment to transparency at USA Fencing and much more. 

• Read (or subscribe to) 5 Minutes With Phil, a monthly newsletter
• Connect with Phil on Instagram
• Visit the USA Fencing website
• Follow USA Fencing on Instagram
• Read a transcript for this episode

First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing

Host: Bryan Wendell

Cover art: Manna Creations

Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn

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First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing

Host: Bryan Wendell

Cover art: Manna Creations

Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn

In this episode of First to 15, we're joined by Chris O’Loughlin, an epee fencer and 1992 Olympian who has been an individual national champion at pretty much every level — junior, NCAA, senior and veteran.

In June, voters across the country elected O’Loughlin into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023, which means he’ll be inducted next summer in Phoenix.

• See all the members of the USA Fencing Hall of Fame
• Visit the USA Fencing website
• Follow USA Fencing on Instagram
• Read a transcript for this episode

First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing

Host: Bryan Wendell

Cover art: Manna Creations

Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn

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First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing

Host: Bryan Wendell

Cover art: Manna Creations

Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn

In this episode of First to 15, we're joined by Supriya Nair, who fences with the Rain City Fencing Center in Washington state. 

Supriya had always heard from her coaches that pre-bout warmups were important, but — being the curious future scientist that she is — she wondered if there was any quantitative data to prove it. So she set out to investigate this for herself — using special equipment to test that hypothesis. The result was an award-winning experiment she calls Neurofencing.

• See the Backyard Brains article about Neurofencing
• Read more about Supriya's research
• Visit the USA Fencing website
• Follow USA Fencing on Instagram
• Read a transcript for this episode

First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing

Host: Bryan Wendell

Cover art: Manna Creations

Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn

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First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing

Host: Bryan Wendell

Cover art: Manna Creations

Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn

In this episode of First to 15, we're joined by Em Beihold, a 23-year-old epee fencer who is a 2020 graduate of UC San Diego, where she twice qualified for the NCAA Championships and helped her school win the league title two times. 

After college, Beihold embarked on a successful career as a singer-songwriter. Her hit song “Numb Little Bug” — a powerful pop anthem born out of a conversation about mental health — hit No. 1 on Spotify's Global Viral 50 chart in February and has been streamed more than 300 million times. 

• Visit the USA Fencing website
• Follow Em on Instagram
• Follow USA Fencing on Instagram
• Read a transcript for this episode

First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing

Host: Bryan Wendell

Cover art: Manna Creations

Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn

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First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing

Host: Bryan Wendell

Cover art: Manna Creations

Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn

In this episode of First to 15, we're joined by Jeidus DeSeranno, a rising star in the world of men's foil at just 14 years old.

• Visit the USA Fencing website
• Follow USA Fencing on Instagram
• Read a transcript for this episode

First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing

Host: Bryan Wendell

Cover art: Manna Creations

Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn

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First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing

Host: Bryan Wendell

Cover art: Manna Creations

Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn

In this episode of First to 15, we're joined by Daryl Homer, three-time Olympian and 2016 Summer Olympics silver medalist in men's saber. 

• Follow Daryl Homer on Instagram
• Visit the USA Fencing website
• Follow USA Fencing on Instagram
• Read a transcript for this episode

First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing

Host: Bryan Wendell

Cover art: Manna Creations

Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn

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First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing

Host: Bryan Wendell

Cover art: Manna Creations

Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn