WILTON, Conn., Sept. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Olympian Fencing Studio ("OFS") is excited to announce that one of our first students – Sapphira Ching – has chosen The Wharton School ("Wharton") at the University of Pennsylvania to begin her NCAA Division I athletic career. According to recent NCAA rankings, the Quakers sit at #3 in the Ivy League and #7 in USA (https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/fencing/nc/collegefencing360com-womens-coaches-poll). Founded in 1881, Wharton is the world’s first business school and ranks #1 globally with a recent undergraduate acceptance rate far below 5%.
Since 2017, Sapphira has been under the tutelage of Olympic Gold Medalist Galya Pundyk. In 2019, she became one of the most celebrated OFS students after winning Connecticut’s first gold medal at a North American Cup senior women’s saber event. Already with two high school state championship titles under her belt, she was crowned the 1st Place winner of the 2020 Fencer’s Excellence Award by USA Fencing’s Connecticut Division. Also a four-time winner of USA Fencing All Academic First Team awards, Sapphira graduated Hopkins School as an inductee to the renowned Cum Laude Society.
2020 Tokyo Olympics Team USA Coach Oleg Stetsiv comments: "I first saw Sapphira fence in 2014 and noticed her unconventional talent. Qualifying for USA Fencing three-weapon referee status at age 11 was unheard of. She showed tremendous potential as a thinker-fencer. Since her Senior World Cup debut at age 14, she began a metamorphosis beyond her age group in advanced mental caliber and maturity. She appreciates and respects all coaches, organizers, and fellow fencers. Friendships follow her everywhere she travels. I approve of her choice to join a top 3 championship team and the best business school in the world. Both cater to her insatiable curiosity, athleticism, and ambitions as a true scholar-athlete. My doors remain open for her, always. Well done, Sapphira!"
Nothing seems to dampen the competitiveness of a championship fencer. During the pandemic, a vacuum of fencing tournaments diverted her ambitions to new outlets. Sapphira created a bespoke curriculum to prime herself alongside MBAs and graduate students globally. She indulged in challenging studies above her age group at INSEAD, HEC and a mosaic of other top educational institutions. Simultaneously, she exposed her mind to cutting-edge ESG ventures such as fundraising for solar car racing, and other socially-innovative start-ups in the fields of microfinance and development economics. A few months ago, she won 1st Place at the 2021 Morgan Stanley Future Asset Managers simulation, pulling ahead of scores of top global talents many years older. Shortly after, she completed an intensive summer internship at the Manhattan headquarters of MSCI (formerly Morgan Stanley Capital International). A few weeks ago, and prior to her first class at Wharton, Sapphira founded Penn Innovation Network to bring global ESG majors like Siemens to campus.
"I can’t sit still. So, when there were no practices or globetrotting tournaments, I applied the same discipline, speed, and ferocity from fencing to creation, innovation, and growth. Super thrilled to begin my S-A career in the same year when the Quakers celebrate 100 Years of Women’s Athletics!" cheers Sapphira.
At OFS, words cannot describe how proud we are of our first student and her myriads of accomplishments. Watching her grow and shine gives us so much pride. We cannot wait to see her again soon, and have her share stories with next generation OFS fencers about how fencing gave her courage and helped her create such a unique path in business while making the world a better place.
Wishing Sapphira the very best at Wharton. Go Quakers!
For more information, press only:
Galyna Pundyk – Founder, Olympian Fencing Studio
(203) 339-5083
319134@email4pr.com
https://olympianfencingstudio.com/
SOURCE Olympian Fencing Studio
