DETROIT -- Wayne State University fencing head coach Andy Tulleners was voted as the Central Collegiate Fencing Conference (CCFC) Women's Team Coach of the Year, as announced by the league.

This marks the second CCFC Coach of the Year distinction for Tulleners, after he was named Men's Team Coach of the Year during his first season with the Warriors in 2024.

Tulleners guided the women's fencing squad to a fourth-place team finish at this year's league championships.  At the conference championships, the women's foil team thrived to place second overall in that weapon, while the women's epee team placed third overall.  During the individual portion of the CCFC Championships, four WSU women's fencing student-athletes earned medals (top eight), as junior Reka Galfalvy (Budapest, Hungary) won the women's epee competition, junior Salma Abdrabou (Cairo, Egypt) finished second in women's epee, Anabella Acurero Gonzalez (Valencia, Venezuela) was tied-for-third in women's foil, and Ludovica Mancini (Rome, Lazio, Italy) earned fifth in women's foil.

Abdrabou, Galfalvy, and Mancini were tabbed to the All-CCFC First Team, while Acurero Gonzalez earned Second Team All-CCFC.  All four qualified for the NCAA Championships as well, continuing WSU's streak of at least one individual (male or female) competing in the national championships.

Under his tutelage, three Warriors garnered All-Region accolades by the United States Fencing Coaches' Association. Those three were Galfalvy earning First Team honors, Acurero Gonzalez collecting a Second Team distinction, and Mancini being tabbed as an Honorable Mention.

Tulleners helped the Green and Gold women's squad to a 14-12 overall ledger this season, including a 3-3 mark at the CCFC Championships and a 13th-place finish at the National Collegiate Fencing Championships.

2026 CCFC COACHING AWARDS:
Men's Team Coach of the Year: Don Anthony - The Ohio State University
Women's Team Coach of the Year: Andy Tulleners - Wayne State University
Men's Team Assistant Coach of the Year: Elvis Gregory - The Ohio State University
Women's Team Assistant Coach of the Year: Dimitri Lapkes - The Ohio State University

FROM HEAD COACH ANDY TULLENERS
"I feel very honored to be recognized by my fellow coaches in the CCFC."  Said WSU fencing coach Andy Tulleners.  "Our team and coaching staff worked very hard this year to achieve the results that we all believed we could prior to the season.  Our women's team really applied themselves this season from beginning to end and I am beyond proud of how they performed.  This recognition is a testament to all the hard work that our women's team put in this year on and off the strip."