EWFC FOUNDER & TREASURER
Linda Vollkommer-Lynch was the driving force behind the establishment of the Eastern Women's Fencing Conference, which began competition in the 2000-01 season. Her vision was to bring the New York City metropolitan area's NCAA Division III level programs together in one league where each university shared similar characteristics and missions. Since the initial campaign, that goal has grown to include the entire Mid-Atlantic region.
Together with commissioner Damion Jones, Vollkommer-Lynch has orchestrated the growth of the EWFC from a tight group of four members in a limited local area, to an organization that now includes seven institutions from a quartet of different states. In addition, she and Jones have steadily increased the number of awards sponsored by the league in order to further expand the recognition of excellence among EWFC student-athletes and teams.
Vollkommer-Lynch will be stepping into her 39th season as head coach of the Stevens Institute of Technology women’s fencing team in 2012-13. In her 38-year career with the Ducks, she has compiled nearly 400 dual meet wins. The squad's 25-4 mark during the recently concluded 2009-10 campaign is the best in school history. Serving at the helm of the program since its inception in 1974, she notched her 300th victory on February 11, 2007.
During the first decade of Eastern Women's Fencing Conference action, Vollkommer-Lynch guided Stevens to dual meet championships in 2001 and 2002, while keeping the team in title contention every season. Three competitors -- foilist Rensie Punsal in 2003 and epeeists Andrea Chimel in 2005 and Briana Nieradka in 2012 -- have been EWFC Fencer of the Year in their respective weapons. A total of 90 Ducks have been named EWFC All-Stars.
Stevens also boasted the first two EWFC Woman of the Year award winners, foilist Natalia Chabebe in 2008, and saberist Laura Sodon in 2009. A quartet of Ducks can stake claim to membership in the exclusive club holding four-time EWFC All-Star status: Chimel (2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005); fellow epeeist Emily Freier (2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008); Sodon (2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009); and fellow saberist Krista Sticco (2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012).
Vollkommer-Lynch has personally collected many awards during her career as well. She was named the National Intercollegiate Women’s Fencing Association Coach of the Year in both 1981 and 1994, as well as New Jersey Collegiate Athletic Directors Coach of the Decade in 1990. Her guidance also helped Stevens claim four straight EWFC Coaching Staff of the Year awards from 2001 to 2004, the first pair unanimous, and the other two shared.
A member of the Athletic Hall of Fame at her alma mater, New Jersey City University, Vollkommer-Lynch was a standout competitor for the Gothic Knights during her undergraduate days. She was also inducted into the Hudson County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000 for her accomplishments both as a coach and as an athlete. Those exploits were capped off by her participation in the Olympic Trials for the United States Women's Fencing Team in 1984.
Other athletic endeavors include winning the New Jersey State Championship and being a finalist in the first-ever Garden State Games in 1983, entering the National Sports Festival in 1981 and 1982, and helping organize the 75th anniversary celebration for the NIWFA, hosted by the Ducks, in 2003. Graduating from NJCU in 1970, Vollkommer-Lynch holds a B.A. in Physical Education, and later received an honorary engineering degree from Stevens.
Together with commissioner Damion Jones, Vollkommer-Lynch has orchestrated the growth of the EWFC from a tight group of four members in a limited local area, to an organization that now includes seven institutions from a quartet of different states. In addition, she and Jones have steadily increased the number of awards sponsored by the league in order to further expand the recognition of excellence among EWFC student-athletes and teams.
Vollkommer-Lynch will be stepping into her 39th season as head coach of the Stevens Institute of Technology women’s fencing team in 2012-13. In her 38-year career with the Ducks, she has compiled nearly 400 dual meet wins. The squad's 25-4 mark during the recently concluded 2009-10 campaign is the best in school history. Serving at the helm of the program since its inception in 1974, she notched her 300th victory on February 11, 2007.
During the first decade of Eastern Women's Fencing Conference action, Vollkommer-Lynch guided Stevens to dual meet championships in 2001 and 2002, while keeping the team in title contention every season. Three competitors -- foilist Rensie Punsal in 2003 and epeeists Andrea Chimel in 2005 and Briana Nieradka in 2012 -- have been EWFC Fencer of the Year in their respective weapons. A total of 90 Ducks have been named EWFC All-Stars.
Stevens also boasted the first two EWFC Woman of the Year award winners, foilist Natalia Chabebe in 2008, and saberist Laura Sodon in 2009. A quartet of Ducks can stake claim to membership in the exclusive club holding four-time EWFC All-Star status: Chimel (2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005); fellow epeeist Emily Freier (2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008); Sodon (2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009); and fellow saberist Krista Sticco (2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012).
Vollkommer-Lynch has personally collected many awards during her career as well. She was named the National Intercollegiate Women’s Fencing Association Coach of the Year in both 1981 and 1994, as well as New Jersey Collegiate Athletic Directors Coach of the Decade in 1990. Her guidance also helped Stevens claim four straight EWFC Coaching Staff of the Year awards from 2001 to 2004, the first pair unanimous, and the other two shared.
A member of the Athletic Hall of Fame at her alma mater, New Jersey City University, Vollkommer-Lynch was a standout competitor for the Gothic Knights during her undergraduate days. She was also inducted into the Hudson County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000 for her accomplishments both as a coach and as an athlete. Those exploits were capped off by her participation in the Olympic Trials for the United States Women's Fencing Team in 1984.
Other athletic endeavors include winning the New Jersey State Championship and being a finalist in the first-ever Garden State Games in 1983, entering the National Sports Festival in 1981 and 1982, and helping organize the 75th anniversary celebration for the NIWFA, hosted by the Ducks, in 2003. Graduating from NJCU in 1970, Vollkommer-Lynch holds a B.A. in Physical Education, and later received an honorary engineering degree from Stevens.
COMMISSIONER OF THE EWFC
Damion Jones has served as Commissioner of the Eastern Women's Fencing Conference since the 2002-03 campaign. He originally became involved with the league during his stint as Sports Information Director at Hunter College. That initial season saw him take charge of organizing the first full-scale EWFC Dual Meet Championship, hosted by the Hawks, and his vision led to a unanimous request to assume the leadership post following a coaches meeting.
Since that time, Jones and league founder/treasurer Linda Vollkommer-Lynch have orchestrated the growth of the EWFC from a tight group of four members in a limited local area, to an organization that now includes seven institutions from a quartet of different states. In addition, the duo has steadily increased the number of awards sponsored by the conference in order to further expand the recognition of excellence among EWFC student-athletes and teams.
Jones holds the primary responsibility of coordinating and overseeing the annual dual meet and individual championship competitions for the EWFC. In addition to conceiving the one-day dual meet series to crown a team champion in 2003, he implemented the one-day individual tournament in 2007 to simplify the process for choosing EWFC All-Stars. The league's coaches had previously voted for All-Stars, which occasionally led to mild controversies.
One of the other early changes Jones brought to the conference was the creation of the Fencer of the Year designation to honor the top student-athlete in each weapon starting in 2003. He and Vollkommer-Lynch also sought out institutions that would expand the EWFC beyond its New York City metropolitan core. They achieved this goal with the additions of Drew University in 2003, Haverford College in 2006, and Johns Hopkins University in 2008.
Away from the EWFC, Jones served as Olympic Broadcast Coordinator for China Central Television during the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, and later became an International Editor for the network. He landed those assignments after working in Shanghai for several years, a move which came on the heels of spending much of his professional career at Hunter, eventually becoming the longest tenured Sports Information Director in the school's history.
Jones also put in time as a Press Box Assistant at the 2003 and 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments where he helped coordinate media participation, wrote game stories, confirmed statistics, and supplied post-match data at North America's premier international soccer event. He was often tapped as a sports announcer by Queens Public Television and the CUNY Athletic Conference for a variety of championship events during this period as well.
Prior to working with the Hawks, Jones went through two seasons as Sports Information Director at Northeastern Illinois University, where he was the youngest individual to hold that title at any NCAA Division I level institution in the country at the time of his appointment. The previous year saw him fill the position of Media Relations Assistant for the Mid-Continent Conference, now called the Summit League, which was his first postgraduate experience.
A graduate of Allegheny College with a B.A. in Communication Arts, Jones was introduced to his eventual career path while employed as a sports information assistant in the campus public relations office. He was also a member of the wrestling team, sports editor of the school newspaper, and sports director of the campus radio station. The Maryland native's favorite professional sport is baseball and he grew up supporting the Baltimore Orioles.
Since that time, Jones and league founder/treasurer Linda Vollkommer-Lynch have orchestrated the growth of the EWFC from a tight group of four members in a limited local area, to an organization that now includes seven institutions from a quartet of different states. In addition, the duo has steadily increased the number of awards sponsored by the conference in order to further expand the recognition of excellence among EWFC student-athletes and teams.
Jones holds the primary responsibility of coordinating and overseeing the annual dual meet and individual championship competitions for the EWFC. In addition to conceiving the one-day dual meet series to crown a team champion in 2003, he implemented the one-day individual tournament in 2007 to simplify the process for choosing EWFC All-Stars. The league's coaches had previously voted for All-Stars, which occasionally led to mild controversies.
One of the other early changes Jones brought to the conference was the creation of the Fencer of the Year designation to honor the top student-athlete in each weapon starting in 2003. He and Vollkommer-Lynch also sought out institutions that would expand the EWFC beyond its New York City metropolitan core. They achieved this goal with the additions of Drew University in 2003, Haverford College in 2006, and Johns Hopkins University in 2008.
Away from the EWFC, Jones served as Olympic Broadcast Coordinator for China Central Television during the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, and later became an International Editor for the network. He landed those assignments after working in Shanghai for several years, a move which came on the heels of spending much of his professional career at Hunter, eventually becoming the longest tenured Sports Information Director in the school's history.
Jones also put in time as a Press Box Assistant at the 2003 and 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments where he helped coordinate media participation, wrote game stories, confirmed statistics, and supplied post-match data at North America's premier international soccer event. He was often tapped as a sports announcer by Queens Public Television and the CUNY Athletic Conference for a variety of championship events during this period as well.
Prior to working with the Hawks, Jones went through two seasons as Sports Information Director at Northeastern Illinois University, where he was the youngest individual to hold that title at any NCAA Division I level institution in the country at the time of his appointment. The previous year saw him fill the position of Media Relations Assistant for the Mid-Continent Conference, now called the Summit League, which was his first postgraduate experience.
A graduate of Allegheny College with a B.A. in Communication Arts, Jones was introduced to his eventual career path while employed as a sports information assistant in the campus public relations office. He was also a member of the wrestling team, sports editor of the school newspaper, and sports director of the campus radio station. The Maryland native's favorite professional sport is baseball and he grew up supporting the Baltimore Orioles.