FENCING: Marat Israelian elevated to interim head coach
Marat Israelian was announced as interim head coach in a Yale Athletics press release, replacing previous head coach Haibin Wang who was unexpectedly dismissed.
Courtesy of Yale Athletics
In one week, Yale’s fencing teams will face their first competition under a new head coach, after the sudden dismissal of previous head coach Haibin Wang.
Four weeks prior to the start of competition, Marat Israelian was appointed as interim head coach for the Yale fencing teams in an Oct. 4 Yale Athletics press release. A former fencer for St. John’s University, Israelian claimed the NCAA epee championship in 2010 and 2011 and was a 2005 European Championship finalist. As a coach, he won the New Jersey High School Coach of the Year and led youth teams to two state championships. In 2019, Israelian was appointed as assistant coach for the Elis, helping the team earn top-10 national rankings.
Israelian’s first test as head coach of the Blue and White will come on Nov. 5 at the Garret Open, just a month after his appointment and two months after former coach Haibin Wang’s dismissal.
“I believe it will be a quick transition,” Israelian said. “I worked with the team for a few years now and they know my mentality and methods. We have a great relationship and the squad is fired up for the upcoming season.”
Isralian will assume the top job for the duration of the 2021-2022 season.
“Given the unique timing and to provide the best possible student-athlete experience, it was in the best interest of our program to reopen our search in the Spring of 2022,” Athletic Director Vicky Chun told Yale Athletics at the time of Israelian’s promotion.
The announcement marks the fencing program’s third head coach in three years.
In 2019, former head coach Henry Harutunian was fired after 49 years with the team and just eight months into Chun’s tenure as athletic director. The move proved controversial among fencing alumni, with some expressing their discontent over the dismissal of “a coach who has spent his entire career building a program that represents the highest ideals of sport and scholarship.”
In September, former chair of the China Fencing Association Haibin Wang was removed as head coach of Yale’s fencing teams in a “decision [that] took place outside of the Athletic Department,” according to Associate Athletic Director for Strategic Communications Mike Gambardella.
Despite the shake ups, Israelian is focused on achieving success during his year at the helm, he said.
“I believe we have many athletes on the squad that are capable of winning NCAA titles and Ivy titles,” he said. “We are able to do even better this year than in previous years but it all depends on us and our preparation.”
In 2019, seven members of the Yale fencing squads received All-American recognition. In particular, Emme Zhou ’23 also returns after achieving first-team All-American honors in 2019-2020.
Nicolas del Vecchio ’22, captain of the men’s team, echoed Israelian’s optimism for the coming season.
“Marat Israelian is a great coach and an excellent selection by the athletics administration for our program. I expect this to be a very successful year of competitive fencing and I am excited to start our season.”
Yale’s fencing teams practice out of the fencing salon on the seventh floor of Payne Whitney Gym.