Fencing coach Dave Micahnik has one impressive resume.
Three Olympic appearances and a National Championship as a competitor would be one thing. Tack on the 1981 men's and 1986 women's NCAA championship as a coach and that starts to catch people's eyes. Throw in coaching 40 All-Americans, a number of Olympians, a 664-202 coaching record and 34 winning records in as many seasons, and you get a true Hall of Famer.
And, as of July 5, Micahnik can officially call himself one.
"The recognition from people who know what's going on is important," he said of his induction. "It's a validation of all the efforts and production and years of being involved with the program, administratively and coaching and so many other things.
"It's sort of like the totality of things. This is sometimes called a life achievement award. I feel pretty honored by it."
Micahnik, a 1959 College graduate, was a member of the seven-person induction class. He was honored with a weekend of festivities in the Bay Area, culminating in the induction ceremony last Saturday in San Jose, Calif.
Also included in that class was Cathy McClellan, who served as an assistant to Micahnik at Penn from 1982-1984 and won multiple National Championships in both foil and epee.
At the induction ceremony, Micahnik first had to accept the induction of longtime friend Ed Korfanty, who was busy coaching the women's U.S. Olympic team. Then, following McClellan's induction, it was Micahnik's turn. After former Penn fencer Mike Morgan introduced him, he made a ten-minute speech, though it could have run longer.
"I probably had about another 20 minutes of talk in me if I had decided to keep going," he said. "But what I said went over well enough and the people didn't know what I didn't say because they didn't know I could have said it."
There's clearly no shortage of career successes to talk about. When asked about his greatest achievement, he reeled off the names of eight fencers he coached, mentioned the two national championships and brought up the 1978 IFA Championship, at which the men's team shattered the record for number of victories, then ended the night on a comic note.
"They totally dominated the event and then stood in the middle of the floor and sang 'Drink a Highball,'" he said. "That's because they didn't know the alma mater."
After 34 years coaching at Penn and all those honors and distinctions, it is only fitting that he is now officially honored among the pantheon of truly elite contributors to the sport of fencing as a member of the U.S. Fencing Hall of Fame.
