Eli Dershwitz | Olympian and World Champion

Eli Dershwitz is a Harvard graduate (‘19) from Sherborn, Massachusetts. At nine years old, he followed his older brother into fencing. We are proud to have the 2023 World Champion joining our full-time coaching staff. Eli is a two-time Olympian, having competed in the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Games. He is currently training for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. His many fencing accomplishments include being a muli-time Senior World Championship medalist, two-time NCAA Champion, and the first American men’s Saberist to finish the season ranked number one in the FIE Senior points standings. He also found success on the Junior circuit, winning gold, silver, and bronze medals at the Junior World Fencing Championships. 

After graduating, he became the assistant coach of the Harvard fencing team where he aided the team in clinching the 2022 NCAA Women’s and Men’s Individual  Saber titles. He is now the assistant coach of the New York University fencing team. Tim Morehouse Fencing Club students will have the privilege of benefiting from Coach Eli’s extensive elite competitive experience. 

Tim Morehouse, Olympic Silver Medalist | Founder of Tim Morehouse Fencing Club

Tim is one of the most decorated US athletes coaching Saber in the USA today with an Olympic Silver Medal ('08) won in the men's saber team event and a quarter final individual finish at the London Olympics ('12). Tim is a three-time US Olympic Team Member ('04 '08 '12), 9-time senior world team member and two-time individual US National Champion ('10 '11).

Tim spent fifteen years as a student of 4-time Olympic and USA Fencing Hall of Fame Coach Yury Gelman. 

Tim also has extensive experience in education having served both as a teacher and teacher trainer in the prestigious Teach For America program. Tim holds a Masters Degree in Education and he was honored by the White House as a "Champion For Change" in 2012 because of his efforts in education through his non-profit Fencing In The Schools and his work with Teach For America.

His students have won national medals at every level and his students were recruited and attended elite schools including Yale, Johns Hopkins, Cornell and Princeton amongst others.

Ziad Elsissy | Olympian (Saber)

Coach Ziad is the current Senior Individual Saber World Championships bronze medalist and is currently training for his second Olympic Games. At his first Olympic games in Tokyo 2021 he was the Team Captain of the Egyptian Saber Team. He is a multi-time African and Arab Senior Saber Champion and the 2022 Mediterranean Games Saber Champion. In the 2022/2023 season he won the Individual Saber bronze medal at the World Cup in Alger. Currently, he is ranked 4th on the FIE Senior Points Standings and 3rd on the Olympic Qualification Rankings. 

He began fencing in his native Egypt and has been fencing for 18 years. He emigrated to the United States to study at Wayne State University, where he was a two-time NCAA All-American finalist and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2018.  He received his Master’s Degree in 2021 in Mechanical Engineering specializing in Advanced Propulsion and Engineering Systems. In 2022 he was presented with the First Class Sports Medal in Egypt.

Coach Ziad has been with Tim Morehouse Fencing Club since 2018. His students have won Regional, National and International medals. We are lucky to have him passing his incredible fencing knowledge and experience on to our elite fencers in both Manhattan and Westchester. 

Iba Keita | Elite Coach (Saber)

Tim Morehouse Fencing Club welcomed Coach Iba in 2022. Iba started fencing at 7 years old in his home country of Senegal. He was the Junior African Individual Saber Champion in 2008. In 2010, he was a member of the silver medal-winning team at the African Championships as well as a semi-finalist in the individual event. He obtained a License for Legal and Political Sciences in Public Law from the Digital University of Senegal. 

He began coaching in 2007 at the Senegalese International Fencing Academy before he started coaching in the United States in 2018. In 2016 he received a “Master of Arms” diploma from the FIE as the Valedictorian. In the United States, Iba has had multiple youth students medal in North American Cups as well as the Summer Nationals, including a Youth 12 National Champion. Coach Iba excels at motivating his students to do their best and keep a positive attitude. 

Eddie Grigoriev | Coach (Foil)

Coach Eddie has over 20 years of fencing experience. He hails from Briarcliff Manor, NY. He was the 2011 Asian Junior Foil Individual Champion representing Kazakhstan and has placed in the top 64 of the Senior World Championships. In the U.S., has placed in the top 8 of Division 1 foil.

He has been coaching for 7 years and joined Tim Morehouse Fencing Club in 2019. His students have found success at Regional, National and International competitions.

Carlos Ugalde Fernandez | Coach (Saber/Foil/Epee)

Carlos Fernandez Ugalde comes to the Tim Morehouse Fencing Club with a passion for fencing and loads of international experience.

Originally from Spain, Coach Carlos started fencing at age 12 and several years later, made the Spanish National Team. He has served as the National Coach of Argentina and also the National Coach of Spain.

It’s his passion to inspire young fencers to have a love for the sport. “I want my students to have fun,” he says. “At the same time they are getting ready for competitions.”

He adds: “My goal every day is to transmit the love and passion I have for fencing to them.”

Dan Bass | Coach (Foil/Epee)

Dan Bass boasts over twenty years of experience in the sport of fencing as an athlete and coach. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Bass was a member of The Ohio State University’s varsity fencing team which won the 2008 NCAA National Championship as well as four Midwest Conference Championship titles. Shortly after graduating, he relocated to New Jersey where he began his coaching career.

Since then, Bass has coached at several nationally recognized club programs as well as high school and collegiate varsity teams. Most recently, he served as the Head Coach of the NCAA Division-1 Fencing Team at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Metropolitan Campus. His students have earned numerous medals and achievements at the regional, national, and international levels of competition, including #1 rankings in the US and FIE point standings, NCAA All-American honors, and selections to Cadet, Junior, Senior, and Veteran national teams.

While foil remains his primary weapon, Bass has significant coaching experience and is a certified referee in all three weapons. 

Mostafa El-Motaz | Coach (Saber)

Saber Coach | Manhattan + Westchester

Coach Mostafa joined Tim Morehouse Fencing Club in 2023 from Egypt. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Finance and Business Administration from Helwan University. After starting fencing at 10 years old, he went on to win several national medals in Egypt. As an FIE referee, Mostafa is also on the World Elite Referee Master List for Saber. 

Mostafa hopes to bring the success he has with his students in Egypt to TMFC. He coached both the Egyptian Junior Women’s National Saber Champion and the Junior Men’s National Saber bronze medalist. Internationally, his student won the Junior Men’s African Saber Championship. We look forward to his success with students in the United States!