APPLETON, Wis. -- Yasmany Diaz is the first full-time assistant coach in the history of Lawrence University fencing, Director of Athletics Jason Imperati announced today.
    Diaz joins the staff of head coach Eric Momberg, who recently completed his fifth season guiding the Vikings.
    "This is an exciting opportunity for me," Diaz said. "I'm looking forward to working with Eric and thankful for the chance to be a part of the Lawrence community. As we saw from this past season, this is a program that continues to make great strides. My hope is to help the teams take another big step forward."
    A native of Cuba, Diaz has nearly two decades of coaching experience. Diaz has been serving as the head coach of the women's fencing team at the Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas, since March 2023. During that same period, Diaz has been the head foil coach and assistant epee coach at the Fencing Institute of Texas.
    "We are excited to have Yasmany join Lawrence fencing," Momberg said. "His passion for the sport and helping others, along with his vast wealth of coaching knowledge, is guaranteed to make the program better over the years to come."
    Prior to his work in Texas, Diaz spent six years coaching at the Fencing Sports Academy in Virginia. He also coached at the Phoenix Falcons Fencing Club. In his native Cuba, he was the head coach at the High Performance Sports School in Villa Clara and served as the assistant coach for the junior men's foil national team. 
    Diaz has a bachelor's degree in physical culture and sports and did post-graduate work in physical medicine and rehabilitation and also in personalized sports training. 
    An accomplished fencer, Diaz was a multi-time national medalist in Cuba at different levels. A Cuban national team member in U16, U20 and at the Senior level, he was won multiple medals at United States National Championships and North American Cup Championships. 
    Diaz comes to the Vikings, who had three NCAA Championships qualifiers, two United States Fencing Coaches Association All-Americans and 12 All-Central Collegiate Fencing Conference selections during this past season.