Meet the Coaches
RFC's professional coaching staff will help you and your fencer develop skills needed to compete locally and nationally. They offer years of experience in the sport and bring this knowledge to our fencers.
Anatolie Senic
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Head Foil Coach
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Coaching 18 years
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Assistant Coach Wayne State University 10 years
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2004 and 2005 Moldovan National Champion
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World Championship participant 2005 – 2018
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Coach of Multiple National Champions
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Safe Sport Certified
Anatolie Senic is the Head Foil Coach for the Renaissance Fencing Club and runs the Pre Elite and Elite foil programs. He was born in Chisinau, Moldova and has been living in the United States since 1999. Anatolie has been fencing for 38 years and is an A rated fencer. He was the Moldovan National Champion in 2005 and 2006. He was a member of the RFC men's foil team that won the bronze medal at the 2013 NAC in Cleveland. Anatolie participated in the World Championships in 2005, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2017, and 2018. He has a Master of Sports degree from the former USSR.. He has three children who all fence. Anatolie enjoys coffee, skiing, and is an avid soccer fan.
Todd Dressell
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Club President
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Head Sabre & Epee Coach
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Certified Prevot Sabre Coach
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Former Head Fencing Coach at the University of
Detroit Mercy 22 Years -
Safe Sport Certified
Todd Dressell has been fencing for 28 years and has been coaching for 25 years. He is the Head Sabre Coach at the Renaissance Fencing Club and runs the Elite and Pre Elite Sabre Programs. Todd was one of the original Renaissance Fencing Club founders. He is the Head Coach at the University of Detroit Mercy. He is the Commissioner of the Midwest Fencing Conference and served 2 terms on the NCAA Fencing Committee. Todd has two sons who both fence at the NCAA level. Todd enjoys his cottage up north where he hunts and rides his snowmobile.
Anna Katkova
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Lead Foil Coach
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Coach of World and National Champions
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Safe Sport Certified
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Coaching for 38 years
Anna Katkova, has been coaching for 38 years. She started fencing when she was 14 years old. Anna was the Ukrainian National Coach for Junior and Cadet fencers from 2002 - 2006. She then moved to FAW where she coached for 12 years. Her students won many national and international medals including the gold medal at the Cadet World championships in 2016 and multiple World Cup medals in both Cadet and Junior Categories.
Anna has one son and two grandsons. She enjoys traveling and swimming.
Maestro
Leonid Shapiro
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Over 50 years coaching experience
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Former Head Coach Ukranian Junior
Olympic Sports Center -
Safe Sport Certified
Maestro Shapiro has been coaching for more than 50 years. His hometown is Kiev, U.S.S.R. He started fencing at the age of 12. He started in Foil, but switched to Sabre a couple of years later. He was on the junior Ukrainian National team for two years. He began coaching when he was 23 years old. At first he coached all three weapons. He had several students who were medalists in the USSR National Championships.
Maestro Shapiro was the Ukrainian National Women Foil Team Head Coach for ten years. Between 1980 and 1990 his students won Ukrainian National Championships every year. He was the Overall Ukrainian National Team Manager from 1990 until 2000. He has a group of very successful students working in Ukraine, Germany, and the United States.
Maestro Shapiro came to the United States in 2000 and has coached at RFC for 17 years. He lives in Royal Oak, Michigan with his wife and has one son and grandson. He enjoys drinking kvas (an eastern European non-alcoholic drink), ravioli, and loves any kind of jam, especially cherry and apricot. His beloved hobby is frequenting garage sales as they do not exist in Eastern Europe.
Beth Vance
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RFC Board Member
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Beginning Coach for Foil, Sabre & Epee
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Safe Sport Certified
Beth Vance began fencing about 20 years ago as an alternative to aerobics, and has not been back to aerobics class since! A member of the Renaissance Fencing Club since 2000, Beth began fencing foil with an occasional saber competition, and now that is reversed.
Results include third at the 2012 December Vet Saber Combined NAC, 5th a the March 2013 NAC for Saber Vets 50, and was a member of the 2013 Team USA for Veteran Worlds. Beth served as Chair of the Michigan Fencing Division from 2004 – 2005.
Beth holds a Marketing Degree from Michigan State University and enjoys a career in IT. In her free time, Beth enjoys golf and bike riding.
Ann Marsh-Senic
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Club Business Manager
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Coaching 20 years
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1994 and 1995 US National Champion
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3 Time Olympian
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10 Time World Cup finalist
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Safe Sport Certified
Ann Marsh-Senic has been fencing for 35 years and coaching for 20. Her hometown is Royal Oak, MI. She started fencing at Roeper School. She was the 1994 and 1995 US National Champion. She was the first US fencer to be ranked in the top 10 in the world and was ranked there for five years from 1993 - 1997. Ann was 7th individually at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and 4th in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games by team. Ann made 10 World Cup finals, won three world cup bronze medals, and was the first US fencer to win a bronze medal at a Grand Prix World Cup.
Ann obtained her BA from Columbia University and her medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine.
She is specialized in Emergency Medicine and works full time as an Emergency Physician. Ann lives with her husband and three children in Royal Oak. She enjoys Mexican food, foreign languages and all sports.
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Julian Sanders
Julian Started fencing at RFC 14 years ago as a student of coach Anatolie and Maestro Shapiro. After taking some time off during high school, Julian rediscovered his love for fencing at Michigan State University. Holding positions as president and team captain, Julian helped grow and strengthen the club, while helping many new fencers fall in love with the sport as well.
Julian is also a full time physics and chemistry teacher at Troy Athens High School, where he has been teaching for five years. In his spare time Julian loves hiking, fishing, camping, snowboarding, and all things outdoors
Kate Basiuk
Coach Kate Basiuk​ has been involved in fencing for more than 25 years. She was a member of the Ukrainian national team from 2004 - 2013 and won the silver medal at the Junior World Championships in Korea in 2006. She served as a coach for the Ukrainian fencing team from 2007 until 2008. Kate earned her Bachelors degree in Sports Coaching and Physical Education and was awarded the Master of Fencing.
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Kate lives with her husband and son Daniel. Her hobbies include yoga and stretching.
Lucia Procopio
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Coaching 8 years
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Safesport Certified
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Lucia runs the Pre Elite and Girls classes. She also runs the strength and conditioning for the Elite class.
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Lucia has been fencing for 16 years and coaching for 8. Lucia’s hometown is Long Beach, California. She was a successful walk-on to the Northwestern University fencing team; by her senior year, Lucia was Team Captain and compiled the team's highest win record at 0.86, going 49 - 8. She won the silver medal at the Minneapolis DIV 2 North American Cup.
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Lucia graduated in 2018 with a degree in history and anthropology. Lucia developed and directed fencing programs in Chicago schools for three years before coming to RFC.
In her free time Lucia enjoys cooking, baking, weight lifting, and visiting zoos and museums.