Fencing
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Phone:
- 401-863-1986
- Email:
- alexander_ripa@brown.edu
- Joined Brown:
- Seventh
- Alma Mater:
- Massachusetts College of Art '95
Alex Ripa enters his eighth season as the head coach of the Brown University fencing program in 2024-25 after spending three seasons with the Bears as an assistant coach from 2014-17.
In 2024-25, Ripa was named a finalist for the USFCA Coach of the Year for the second straight season after two Bears earned spots in the 2024 NCAA Championships. Anika Breker and Alexandra Tzou competed at the 2024 Nationals, both finishing 23rd in their respective weapon class.
In 2022-23, Ripa guided the Bears to their best season in years, picking up two team wins at the Ivy League Round Robins and two individual NCAA Qualifiers. Brown beat Cornell and Yale in the Ivy Tournament for the program's best finish since 2015. Consequently, 11 Bears competed in the NCAA Regional Championships with two - Casey Chan '23 and Sofia Yee-Wadsworth '24 - reaching the NCAA Championships.
In NFC competition, Grace Li '26 picked up NFC Fencing Rookie of the Year honors as the program shared the George H. Fischer Trophy with Tufts for the team championship.
In 2021-22, Ripa helped Casey Chan '23 reach the NCAA Championships for the second time. In NFC competition, Brown captured the George H. Fischer Trophy for the team title with Rebecca Whang '25 earning NFC Fencer and Rookie of the Year honors.
In 2019-20, Ripa guided Casey Chan ’23 to a third-place finish at the NCAA Northeast Regional, Timmy Frank ’22 to NFC Men’s Fencer of the Year honors, and Nick Andrade ’23 to NFC Men’s Rookie of the Year accolades. The Bears tallied 11 NFC All-Stars, and the men’s side upset Penn at the Ivy League Round-Robins, giving Brown its first win at the event since 2015.
In 2018-19, Ripa mentored an NCAA qualifier in Umar Masood ’19 and six Northeast Fencing Conference All-Stars. He led the Bears to a second-place finish in the NFC combined team standings and in the NFC women’s standings.
During his first season as the leader of the Bears in 2017-18, Ripa guided Brown to a share of the NFC women’s title, while mentoring NCAA qualifier and NFC Women’s Rookie of the Year Signe Golash ’21. He coached seven NFC All-Stars and two First Team All-Ivy performers.
As an assistant coach at Brown, Ripa helped guide All-American Simon Jones ’16, five NCAA qualifiers, and two All-Ivy performers in 2014-15 while mentoring the NFC Men’s Player of the Year, Barrett Weiss ’15, and the NFC Women’s Rookie of the Year, Clarissa Allen ’18. In 2015-16, he coached Jones as a repeat NCAA All-American and Masood as the NFC Men’s Rookie of the Year. During the 2016-17 season, he helped Masood make his debut as an NCAA qualifier.
A former assistant coach at Harvard University, Ripa helped the Crimson make multiple appearances in the NCAA Championships and guided numerous student-athletes to All-America honors.
Ripa presently coaches successful international competitors, members of the U.S. Cadet and Junior World Teams, and Ivy League and NCAA champions. His students hold international rankings and top positions in the U.S. national point standings.
Ripa holds coaching certifications through the United States Fencing Association and the United States Fencing Coaches Association, which is recognized by the Academie d’Armes Internationale.
His coaching philosophy centers on athlete individuality, and he has created a remarkably successful physical and mental fencing training program that succeeds in producing champions in life, as well as in fencing.
Originally from Portsmouth, R.I., he graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art in 1995. He resides in Barrington, R.I., with his wife, Jill, and two children.
The Ripa File
Awards & Accolades
Men’s NCAA Qualifiers (1): Umar Masood (2019)
Women’s NCAA Qualifiers (7): Signe Golash (2018), Casey Chan (2020, 2022, 2023). Sofia Yee-Wadsworth (2023), Anika Breker (2024), Alexandra Tzou (2024)
Men’s All-Ivy (2): Samuel Koch (2018), Umar Masood (2018)
NFC Women's Fencer of the Year (1): Rebecca Whang (2022)
NFC Men’s Fencer of the Year (1): Timmy Frank (2020)
NFC Men’s Rookie of the Year (1): Nick Andrade (2020)
NFC Women’s Rookie of the Year (3): Signe Golash (2018), Rebecca Whang (2022), Grace Li (2023)
NCAA Team Finishes
2018: 27th
2019: 25th
2020: Canceled
2021: Canceled
2022: 24th
2023: 23rd
2024: 25th
