Eli Dershwitz | Olympian and World Champion

Eli Dershwitz is a Harvard graduate (‘19) from Sherborn, Massachusetts. At nine years old, he followed his older brother into fencing. We are proud to have the 2023 World Champion joining our full-time coaching staff. Eli is a two-time Olympian, having competed in the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Games. He is currently training for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. His many fencing accomplishments include being a muli-time Senior World Championship medalist, two-time NCAA Champion, and the first American men’s Saberist to finish the season ranked number one in the FIE Senior points standings. He also found success on the Junior circuit, winning gold, silver, and bronze medals at the Junior World Fencing Championships. 

After graduating, he became the assistant coach of the Harvard fencing team where he aided the team in clinching the 2022 NCAA Women’s and Men’s Individual  Saber titles. He is now the assistant coach of the New York University fencing team. Tim Morehouse Fencing Club students will have the privilege of benefiting from Coach Eli’s extensive elite competitive experience. 

Tim Morehouse, Olympic Silver Medalist | Founder of Tim Morehouse Fencing Club

Tim is one of the most decorated US athletes coaching Saber in the USA today with an Olympic Silver Medal ('08) won in the men's saber team event and a quarter final individual finish at the London Olympics ('12). Tim is a three-time US Olympic Team Member ('04 '08 '12), 9-time senior world team member and two-time individual US National Champion ('10 '11).

Tim spent fifteen years as a student of 4-time Olympic and USA Fencing Hall of Fame Coach Yury Gelman. 

Tim also has extensive experience in education having served both as a teacher and teacher trainer in the prestigious Teach For America program. Tim holds a Masters Degree in Education and he was honored by the White House as a "Champion For Change" in 2012 because of his efforts in education through his non-profit Fencing In The Schools and his work with Teach For America.

His students have won national medals at every level and his students were recruited and attended elite schools including Yale, Johns Hopkins, Cornell and Princeton amongst others.

Iba Keita | Elite Coach (Saber)

Tim Morehouse Fencing Club welcomed Coach Iba in 2022. Iba started fencing at 7 years old in his home country of Senegal. He was the Junior African Individual Saber Champion in 2008. In 2010, he was a member of the silver medal-winning team at the African Championships as well as a semi-finalist in the individual event. He obtained a License for Legal and Political Sciences in Public Law from the Digital University of Senegal. 

He began coaching in 2007 at the Senegalese International Fencing Academy before he started coaching in the United States in 2018. In 2016 he received a “Master of Arms” diploma from the FIE as the Valedictorian. In the United States, Iba has had multiple youth students medal in North American Cups as well as the Summer Nationals, including a Youth 12 National Champion. Coach Iba excels at motivating his students to do their best and keep a positive attitude. 

Carlos Ugalde Fernandez | Coach (Saber/Foil/Epee)

Carlos Fernandez Ugalde comes to the Tim Morehouse Fencing Club with a passion for fencing and loads of international experience.

Originally from Spain, Coach Carlos started fencing at age 12 and several years later, made the Spanish National Team. He has served as the National Coach of Argentina and also the National Coach of Spain.

It’s his passion to inspire young fencers to have a love for the sport. “I want my students to have fun,” he says. “At the same time they are getting ready for competitions.”

He adds: “My goal every day is to transmit the love and passion I have for fencing to them.”

Irem Ulku | Coach (Saber/Epee/Foil)

Coach Irem comes to us all the way from Türkiye. She has 27 years of fencing experience and was on the Turkish National Team. In 2001, she was the bronze medal winner of the Balkan Individual Women’s Saber Championships and a member of the silver medal winning Team Women’s Saber in the same year. She has placed in the top 32 of the European Championships and top 16 of the team event at the Junior World Championships. Coach Irem is very involved in all aspects of the sport. She has Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management from Türkiye Ege University and a Master’s degree in Coaching Sports, and Health Sciences from the Türkiye Celal Bayar University. She currently researches and prepares articles on the sport of fencing in her field of Sports Biomechanics. 

Irem has been a fencing coach for 18 years and an International Fencing Referee for 11 years. She worked with the Cadet Men’s Saber National Team and the Veteran Men’s Saber National Team in Türkiye. There, her students won National and International medals, including the European Cadet Women’s Saber Championship. She also recently obtained a Maitre De Sabre certificate from the US Fencing Coaches Association. Tim Morehouse Fencing Club is already benefiting from her extensive knowledge and experience!

Mostafa El-Motaz | Coach (Saber)

Saber Coach | Manhattan + Westchester

Coach Mostafa joined Tim Morehouse Fencing Club in 2023 from Egypt. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Finance and Business Administration from Helwan University. After starting fencing at 10 years old, he went on to win several national medals in Egypt. As an FIE referee, Mostafa is also on the World Elite Referee Master List for Saber. 

Mostafa hopes to bring the success he has with his students in Egypt to TMFC. He coached both the Egyptian Junior Women’s National Saber Champion and the Junior Men’s National Saber bronze medalist. Internationally, his student won the Junior Men’s African Saber Championship. We look forward to his success with students in the United States!

Luka Oboladze | Saber Coach

Oboladze is a Saber fencing coach whose talent lies in developing fencers — youth, adults and parafencers — to go on to become champions. 

We were delighted to have Luka return to Tim Morehouse Fencing Club in 2022 after a four-year stint from 2016 to 2020. Previously, he worked with fencers of all ages, but really made his mark with the Veteran fencing program, growing it from nothing to 15 active members in a year. He has also led camps for both youths and adults.

Luka started coaching Saber while he was still fencing himself. He worked with youth fencers, wheelchair fencers and also served as the Assistant Coach for the National Team of Georgia.  

As a Saber fencer, he was a member of Georgia’s National Team from 2010 to 2016. He earned countless medals at the Kutaisi Cup and Championships, the Georgian Cup and Championships, the European Cup and Championnats d’Europe. In 2014, he was a member of the bronze medal winning U-23 European Championships team. He was also part of the Georgian team placing in the top 10 of the Senior European Championships multiple times. 

Luka attended the Akati Tsereteli State University in Kutaisi, graduating in 2014 with a degree in Oriental Studies.

Babacar Keita | Coach (Saber)

Babacar Keita is a member of the National Team of Senegal. He coaches Youth fencers and leads Youth fencing classes.