FENCING: Bednarski still No. 1 on the list
By MIKE CONNOLLY
Sports Writer
The search for a new fencing head coach should be completed within the next few weeks as current assistant coach Janusz Bednarski remains retiring head coach Yves Auriol's preferred replacement.
"I plan to do something in the next couple of weeks," Bernard Muir, associate athletic director, said after the 2002 NCAA Fencing Championship. "Hopefully we'll solidify something after we talk to a few more people."
Bednarski said he was very interested in the job while Auriol reiterated his support for his current assistant.
"Coaching is my life," Bednarski said. "Notre Dame is the place where everyone wants to be. Of course I am interested."
Muir said that Auriol's recommendation would play a large part in choosing the next coach.
"Yves is going to be a key part," Muir said. "What he's done is tremendous and certainly we are going to use his expertise in choosing what direction we head with this program."
Bednarski who has been an assistant coach with the Irish since 1996 is also the popular choice among current Irish fencers.
Foil captain Ozren Debic believes Bednarski will be a strong head coach but hopes that first-year assistant coach Zoltan Dudas is retained as well. Bednarski's expertise lies in sabre while Dudas is primarily an epee and foil coach.
"I think Janusz is a great coach especially if Zoltan stays on," Debic said. "I think the two of them are a good combination."
Debic, however, believes the Notre Dame needs to hire additional assistant coaches and increase the fencing budget to include training trips if the Irish are going to win the national championship.
If Bednarski is selected as the next head coach, he plans on strengthening recruiting and building on Auriol's already strong foundation.
"It is not easy but you can always improve on something," he said. "You are learning from the past. We can improve a little bit in recruiting but the most important thing is to keep the kids together and make them into champions."
Bednarski was born in Poland, where he was a member of the national sabre team. He coached the Polish Olympic team from 1978-88 before moving to the United States in 1988. In addition to his duties with the Irish, he is also the head coach at the Indiana Fencing Academy in Mishawaka. In his seven years at Notre Dame, he has coached two national sabre champions, Luke LaValle in 1998 and Gabor Szelle in 2000. His squads have also produced seven All-Americans — most recently Cari McCullough and Andre Crompton in 2002.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, March 26, 2002
