Men's Fencing 10/23/2023 10:54:00 AM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Tulleners Selected Head Fencing Coach

DETROIT -- Wayne State University Director of Athletics Erika Wallace has selected Andy Tulleners as the seventh head coach of the Wayne State University fencing program.

As the WSU men's squad is in its 92nd year of competition this fall, Tulleners joins Bela de Tuscan (1932-1957), Istvan Danosi (1957-1982), Aladar Kogler (1982-1983), Gil Pezza (1983-1991), Jerzy Radz (1991-2020), and Slava Zingerman (2021-2023) as head coaches at Wayne State University.

"I am very excited to announce Andy Tulleners as the next Head Men's and Women's Fencing Coach for Wayne State University," commented Wallace. "Coach Tulleners comes to us with extensive experience in which he will use to lead our programs into a new era of success, while continuing to build upon our legacy. As we were going through the search process it became very evident that Andy knew what it took to lead a successful fencing program, but more importantly we shared in the vision of developing the student-athlete beyond the sport of fencing. I'm excited to watch his impact as he leads these programs."

"I am very excited to have the opportunity to join the Wayne State Athletic and Academic family," stated Tulleners. "The history of Wayne State Fencing is long and has been very successful. I look forward to being a part of supporting the Wayne State Athletic Mission Statement as we support our student athletes in academics and athletics. I am very appreciative of this opportunity that Athletic Director Erika Wallace and all supporting Wayne State staff have provided to me."

No stranger to coaching fencing at the collegiate level, Tulleners started as an assistant coach at Cleveland State University serving three seasons from 2005-08, before embarking on seven-year (2008-15) stint as head coach for the Vikings.

After two years (2015-17) as an associate head coach at CSU, Tulleners resumed head coaching duties in 2017 and spent more than four years (2017-2021) leading the Viking fencing program.

In the shortened season of (2020-)2021, CSU had six athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships: three men and three women. The six fencers qualifying tied the most NCAA qualifiers in a single season in program history. In addition, the program finished in the top 20 (17th with 22 victories).

Tulleners was named the 2020 Midwest Fencing Conference Men's Coach of the Year, the second straight season he earned a Coach of the Year honor from the league.

The CSU men posted their best result at the Midwest Fencing Conference (MFC) Championships in program history in 2020, taking second place with 735 points. Both the foil and epee units claimed runner-up honors as the men improved by three places from the previous season. Freshman Lucas Bolton finished second in foil in the individual portion of the conference meet, marking the best individual finish by a Viking at the MFC Championships in program history.

The CSU women finished in sixth place at the Midwest Championships in 2019-20 with 600 points, equaling their highest-ever finish at the event. It was a six-spot bump for the Viking women from the season prior, which helped Cleveland State tie for third in combined team score with 1,335 points. The combined placing marked a 17-place improvement over the previous two seasons for Cleveland State.

Tulleners also guided 21 student-athletes to qualify for the NCAA Regional competition in 2019-20, the most Viking qualifiers in program history. He led two of those student-athletes, Bolton and Ahmad Taqi, to USFCA All-Region honors. Bolton and Taqi were two of only three student-athletes, male or female, that were named All-Midwest Region and did not hail from a Power-Five school.

Tulleners was selected as the 2019 MFC Coach of the Year as Cleveland State displayed a large jump from his first season to his second.

After the Vikings tied for 20th at the 2018 MFC Championships, Tulleners led the squad to an eighth-place finish at the 2019 event. CSU garnered 320 total points at the 2018 Championships, but more than tripled that the next year when it collected 1,005 points.

The Cleveland State men posted their best finish at the MFC's in 15 years, finishing fifth with 635 points in 2019. The men's foil unit took second place at the conference championships, finishing only behind nationally ranked Ohio State, while the men's epee team also won three team bouts at the event.

Tulleners also guided his women's foil squad to three victories at the event as the unit outpaced its seed. This was achieved despite the fact that the team was composed of three true freshmen.

At the 2019 NCAA Midwest Regional, 11 Viking competed, the highest figure for CSU in five years.

During his first tenure as head coach at CSU, Tulleners was named MFC Coach of the Year in both 2011 and 2014. He also helped three different individuals qualify for the NCAA Championships.

As head coach at CSU, Tulleners consistently ensured his student-athletes performed well off the strip as his teams combined for nine NCAA APR Public Recognition awards. The CSU women also claimed the athletic department's annual 'Best of the Best' honor, awarded to the team with the highest grade point average, in both 2017-18 and 2018-19.

At the end of the 2016-17 season, Tulleners earned USA Fencing's 'Spirit of the Sport' award. He was one of six individuals nationally chosen based on commitment to the sport of fencing, as well as commitment to his or her club, along with the sportsmanship, leadership, teamwork and character that the nominee displays.

Tulleners also played a large role in helping Cleveland State host the 2019 NCAA Fencing Championships on campus inside the Wolstein Center, the first time that CSU hosted the prestigious event.

Over the last 25 years, Tulleners has worked at various clubs as an assistant coach primarily with the foilists. He began with the Salle du Lion Fencing Club (1999-2002), followed by Kent State's Club Team (2002-2004), Caldera Fencing Club (2007-2011), Two Ravens Fencing School (2016-2021) and Cleveland Fencing Academy (2022-2023).

On the international stage, he coached the Jamaican National Team at the 2023 Central American and Carribean Games after previously serving as a coach with the Jamaican National Team in 2021.

A member of the United States Fencing Coaches Association, Tulleners spent six years (2014-2020) as the Secretary for the Midwest Fencing Conference. He also served on the NCAA Fencing Committee in 2014-15.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Tulleners earned a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from the University of Dayton in 1999.

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