Sebastiani ends 25-year run

During his tenure as fencing coach at Princeton University, Michel Sebastiani has seen three University presidents, 25 graduating classes, and over 300 victories for his men's and women's teams. After 25 years of exemplary coaching, Sebastiani has decided to retire from his position as head coach of the Princeton fencing teams.

Sebastiani announced his decision to retire after the final match of the 2005 season. In his final season as head coach, Sebastiani guided six Tiger fencers to the NCAA national championships, where two earned top-three finishes and three received All-American honors. As a testament to the overall breadth of strength in the fencing program, of the six athletes representing the Tigers at Nationals, half were from the men's team and half from the women's. Each team also supplied a medalist: senior Ben Solomon took third in epee and fellow senior Jacqueline Leahy finished second in foil.

In recognition of this strong final season and his 25 years of excellence in developing amateur athletes, Coach Sebastiani received the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association's Schreff Sword. The award is given annually to the outstanding collegiate fencing coach of the year as voted by his peers. It is Sebastiani's second time receiving the award.

His first Sword came over a decade earlier in 1994, after the men's team took the Ivy League Championship and the women's team won the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association Championship. This was just one of the highlights of Sebastiani's long and distinguished career.

Sebastiani began coaching at Princeton in 1982, but prior to his time as a Tiger, he had an equally impressive career as an athlete. He participated in competitions throughout Europe and in 1960, was selected as a member of the French Olympic team. Building on his experiences as an athlete, Sebastiani made the transition to coaching by moving to the United States in 1963. Nearly two decades later, he was invited to coach at Princeton, but his stream of accomplishments would not dry up there.

During his time as a member of the Princeton community, Sebastiani has coached both national champions and Olympic athletes. Soren Thompson '05 finished seventh in the epee event of the Athens Olympics — the best finish by a U.S. athlete in the event in nearly 50 years.

As a coach, Sebastiani has earned both the respect and admiration of his athletes over the course of his lengthy and illustrious career.

"As an athlete on the team, I have really appreciated Coach Sebastiani's love for fencing and his knowledge of the sport," Leahy said.

Sebastiani was renowned for his ability to help novices and walk-on athletes develop into national-caliber fencers, a talent that distinguishes the cream of the crop when it comes to coaching.

"He's always been straightforward with me, laying out all my weaknesses not so that I would feel badly about them but so that I would know my limitations and think specifically about how I would win each bout," Leahy said. "This kind of coaching has enabled him to make walk-ons into champions."

Sebastiani will be followed by Zoltan Dudas, previously an assistant coach with Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish recently placed fourth overall at the NCAA national championships.

Though the Tigers regret to see their experienced leader depart, they do believe that they have been placed in good hands. Sebastiani's legacy will no doubt be hard to match, but the team is buoyantly optimistic about the future of Princeton fencing.

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"Sebastiani's retirement will leave large shoes to fill," senior captain Owen Cornwall said. "But I am confident that our new coach, Zoltan Dudas, will do a great job in his place."