Christine Griffith enters her third season as head coach of the Haverford College men’s and women’s fencing programs in 2026-27. A finalist for USFCA Division III Men’s Coach of the Year in each of her first two seasons, Griffith has guided the Fords to national recognition in competition and the classroom.
In 2025-26, Haverford’s men finished fifth at the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association (MACFA) Championships, with the foil squad capturing its second consecutive silver medal. Dean Myers ’28 won the individual foil championship, while Oliver Po ’29 earned bronze. Po went on to finish 10th at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional, the highest placement by a Division III foilist, and was named USFCA Division III Foil Newcomer of the Year. He also earned first-team Division III All-America honors, while Myers and Eric Chen ’27 received honorable mention recognition.
The women placed eighth at the 2026 National Intercollegiate Women’s Fencing Association (NIWFA) Championships, highlighted by a fifth-place team finish in epee. Nina Hamilton ’26 earned second-team All-NIWFA honors after placing fifth individually, while Nina Chafee ’26 received NIWFA All-Academic recognition. Carter Wood ’26 earned USFCA Division III All-Mid-Atlantic/South Region first-team honors in sabre and joined Chen, Michael Pyo ’26 and Myers on the PhillySIDA Academic All-Area At-Large teams.
Both programs earned USFCA All-Academic Team recognition in 2025-26, with the men sharing national Scholar Team of the Year honors with Duke for the highest combined in-season team GPA. Individually, 36 Fords earned All-Academic recognition, including 23 Scholars of Distinction. Chen added his second consecutive first-team College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America selection and repeated as PhillySIDA Academic All-Area At-Large Performer of the Year.
Griffith’s debut season in 2024-25 featured a historic campaign from Chen, who became Haverford’s first NCAA Championships qualifier in 15 years and the only Division III competitor in the 2025 championship field. He placed 22nd in men’s epee, received the NCAA Elite 90 Award and was named USFCA Division III Men’s Epee Athlete of the Year. Chen also earned first-team Division III All-America and CSC Academic All-America honors, with Pyo and Myers joining him among the USFCA Division III All-Americans. Both Haverford programs earned USFCA All-Academic Team recognition.
Before arriving at Haverford, Griffith served as assistant coach for sabre at the United States Air Force Academy in 2023-24. The Falcons finished 12th at the NCAA Championships, while nine student-athletes earned Mountain Pacific Sports Federation All-Academic honors. Women’s sabre fencer Mira Vestel also received CSC Academic All-District recognition.
Griffith previously became Cleveland State University’s first full-time fencing coach in 2022. During her tenure, the men finished second and the women third at the Central Collegiate Conference Championships. All three men’s weapon squads earned runner-up finishes, while women’s epee placed third. The Vikings collected seven all-conference awards.
Before Cleveland State, Griffith spent 11 years coaching at the Rochester Fencing Club in western New York. She served as associate head coach of the sabre program before becoming head sabre coach in 2017. In 2020, she added responsibilities as youth development coordinator, overseeing programming from introductory through advanced levels. She also served as an adjunct fencing instructor at Rochester Institute of Technology in 2020 and led the Canandaigua Academy High School fencing program from 2017 to 2019.
A Roseville, Calif., native, Griffith competed at Temple University under Hall of Fame coach Dr. Nikki Franke. She qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2007 and 2008, won the 2008 NIWFA women’s sabre championship and was named team MVP that season. She finished her collegiate career with 152 victories and received Temple’s Owl Club Academic Award in 2009.
Griffith holds a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology and exercise science from Temple and has completed the WeCOACH NCAA Women Coaches Academy.
