HARTFORD, Conn. – Trinity College Athletics Director of Athletics Gavin Viano is excited to announce the appointment of David Sach as the inaugural Director of Fencing for the Bantams.
 
"Trinity is excited to appoint David Sach as our inaugural Director of Fencing," said Viano. "David's experience within the NESCAC at Tufts, combined with his extensive international team and club fencing resume and his expertise gained from launching a new NCAA Fencing program at Wheaton, made Coach Sach the ideal person to lead Bantam Fencing into the ranks of varsity intercollegiate competition. This is a great day for Trinity, welcome Coach Sach."
 
David Sach joins Trinity after serving as Wheaton College's first-ever head coach for both the men's and women's fencing programs since June 2023. Since arriving at Wheaton, Sach has overseen the launch of the College's varsity fencing programs and guided the Lyons through their inaugural seasons of competition. In 2024-25, Wheaton's inaugural men's season produced the first All-America, All-Region and Northeast Fencing Conference (NFC) All-Star selections in program history, as Phillip Nunnink earned USFCA All-America Honorable Mention and All-Northeast Region honors and was named an NFC First Team All-Star. Grant Smith also earned NFC Second Team All-Star honors, while Norah Vaughan became the first female fencer in Wheaton history and earned USFCA All-Northeast Region recognition. In 2025-26, Nunnink earned his second consecutive All-America Honorable Mention selection and shared NFC Fencer of the Year honors after posting a 49-28 record, becoming the first fencer in program history to earn All-America honors in consecutive seasons.
 
"I am excited for the opportunity to coach again in the NESCAC," said Sach. "I am looking forward to establishing a fencing program at Trinity that competes at the highest level. Trinity has the perfect combination of high-level academics and athletics that will make fencers want to continue their journey at Trinity." 
 
Sach joined Wheaton following six seasons as head coach of the Tufts University women's fencing program, where he led the Jumbos to a share of the 2023 NFC Championship and a No. 2 Division III national ranking. He compiled a 69-48 record at Tufts and was a finalist for the 2023 USFCA National Coach of the Year award.
 
A former elite international fencer, Sach won five consecutive Junior National Championships and earned two individual silver medals and a team gold at the Commonwealth Games. He also serves as Director of Operations at Boston Fencing Club and has coached national champions, World Cup medalists, a Cadet World Champion and Olympians.
 
Trinity will become the 47th NCAA varsity women's fencing program in the country when it launches in 2027-28 and the 40th men's program when it follows in 2028-29. Trinity is the fourth new collegiate fencing program announced through USA Fencing's collegiate development efforts in 2025-26, joining Arcadia University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and Denison University. The Bantams will join a regional fencing landscape that includes nearby NCAA programs at Yale, Brown, Harvard, and Boston College, opening additional competitive opportunities across New England.
 
The history of Fencing at Trinity began when, "a small but determined group of devotees has inaugurated an informal fencing team at Trinity College." A few weeks later, in the March 3, 1948, issue, Tripod writer Dick Avitabile celebrated the team's early success by noting, "At least Trinity has come up with an athletic squad able to defeat Wesleyan!" That informal club competed uncoached through the 1950s. The team gained its first coach in 1968. A women's club emerged in the 1980s and sought varsity status as early as 1984.
 
Perhaps the most distinguished fencer associated with Trinity from this era was Robert Blum '50. Blum fenced at Trinity before continuing his competitive career at Columbia University. He became an internationally prominent saber fencer, competing for the United States at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and 1968 Mexico City Olympics. He also became the first American to reach the individual saber finals at a Fencing World Championship. He became the first American to reach the individual saber finals at a Fencing World Championship in 1958 and was inducted into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame in 2010.