In the fall of 2015, Wagner College announced the addition of men’s water polo and women’s fencing as varsity sports. Both will begin competition in the 2016–17 academic year.
“We believe these exciting additions to our athletic program will help Wagner increase our enrollment, provide us with a competitive edge in recruiting, and raise additional revenue,” said President Guarasci.
“Our success with women’s water polo, which includes several NCAA tournament appearances and top national GPA records, makes the addition of a men’s team a very logical and smart move,” Guarasci added. “Fencing is a sport that attracts a similar type of student-athlete as water polo, and several schools in the Northeast Conference, such as Sacred Heart and Fairleigh Dickinson, compete in fencing, as well as other top-notch local institutions such as Princeton, Columbia, NYU, and NJIT.”
Chris Radmonovich, in his sixth season as head women’s water polo coach, will also serve as head coach of the men’s water polo program.
Wagner will become the 23rd institution in the nation to sponsor Division I men’s water polo. Wagner will also become a member of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), a group of colleges and universities in the Eastern United States that compete in Division I men’s water polo. The winner of the CWPA earns one of the six spots in the NCAA Men’s Water Polo Championship.
In July 2016, Wagner College named Fatima Largaespada head coach for women’s fencing. Largaespada was a standout fencer at Temple University, ranked top 10 nationally during her four years on the team. She was highly ranked herself, placing in the NCAA top 20 in 2013, 2014, and 2015. In addition, she ranked in the top 16 at the 2016 North American Cup and earned a fourth-place finish at the 2016 National Intercollegiate Women’s Fencing Association Championships. Largaespada earned a B.A. in strategic communication from Temple in 2016.
Wagner will become the 40th institution in the nation to sponsor the sport of women’s fencing.
[Note: This story was updated on July 19, 2016.]
Did You Know?
Wagner College had a women’s fencing team back in the 1930s and 1940s. Read a story about a Wagner alumni couple who met through fencing.
