Thomas Manley and Dorottya Berczy Earn USFCA 2020 All-American Honors

Published: Monday, May 4, 2020

Junior Thomas Manley and freshman Dorottya Berczy have been named to the United States Fencing Coaches Association (USFCA) 2020 NCAA Fencing All-American teams, which was released by the organization Wednesday.

Each year, the USFCA recognizes the outstanding work of the fencing student-athletes by naming the All-Americans based on their achievements in the national championship, however, this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the championships were canceled.

All-American honors were based on each fencer's overall body of work through the season competitions and NCAA Regionals.

Berczy was selected to the second team All-America while Manley earned honorable mention accolades. 

"We are so incredibly proud of these two athletes," head coach Jason Henderson commented. "Thomas (Manley) has been an excellent guiding force as captain, he led the team to defend our 2020 MACFA conference championship title this season and was a quintessential leader who led by example. Dorottya (Berczy) has been such a great addition to the program, she has shown a seasoned maturity in the sport drawing upon her international experience and adjusting to the NCAA format exceedingly well her freshman year. It was unfortunate both of these fencers missed on the opportunity to compete in the NCAA championships itself, but we are very proud of this recognition for an entire season of exceptional performance."

Berczy, from Budapest, Hungary, was the top finisher for NJIT in the women's saber event at the 2020 NCAA Regionals, earning an 11th place finish, in her first season at NJIT.

She went a perfect 9-0 at the LIU Invitational, 12-3 at the Elite Invitational, 13-2 at the Philadelphia Invitational and 14-4 at the Eric Sollee Invitational.

Manely, from Farmers Branch, TX, recorded a 10th place finish at the 2020 Mid-Atlantic/South Regional Fencing Championships.

This season, Manley placed third in the men's foil at the 2020 MACFA Championships, which saw the Highlanders capture its second consecutive title, going undefeated on the foil strip and finished the season with a 44-21 overall record.

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