Gia Kvaratskhelia Position: Assistant Coach Alma Mater: Georgian State Physical Training Institute '93

The 2007 season marked a new era for the Notre Dame fencing program, as highly respected assistant coach Gia Kvaratskhelia came on board to work alongside head coach Janusz Bednarski. Regarded as one of the top young foil coaches in the nation, Kvaratskhelia's background includes a successful competitive career in the former Soviet Union as a member of the Georgian National Team.

Guiorgie "Gia" Kvaratskhelia (GEE-uh Claw-duh-SKELL-ee-uh) - who spent the 10 years prior to his appointment at Notre Dame as coach of the Kanza Fencing Club in Salina, Kansas - filled the position on the Notre Dame staff previously held by Zoltan Dudas, who was named head coach at Princeton in the spring of 2006.

The 37-year-old Kvaratskhelia has made a tremendous impact in his short time at Notre Dame - through both his instruction of the Irish foilists and his tireless efforts on the recruiting trail.

Notre Dame qualified the maximum four foilists for the 2007 and 2008 NCAA Championships, producing seven All-Americans over those two seasons. In 2008, Kvaratskhelia led freshmen Steve Kubik (8th), Zach Schirtz (11th) and Hayley Reese (11th) to All-American honors along with junior Adi Nott (4th); meaning all four participants garnered All-American honors. In 2007, Nott led the squad with a third-place finish at NCAA's, while junior foilist Mark Kubik sparkled at the 2007 NCAAs with a seventh-place finish to earn second team All-America status. The team's other 2007 NCAA entrant in men's foil, Jakub Jedrkowiak, placed ninth to secure the third All-America honor of his college fencing career.

Under Kvaratskhelia's guidance, Nott has developed into one of the leading contenders for the 2009 NCAA women's foil title. Her stellar career has included three consecutive All-America honors, including first team accolades in 2008. She also boasts a career record of 170-22, already the 14th-most wins in program history and 10th best among foilists.

Kvaratskhelia has also had a great impact on the recruiting trail. He helped secure one of the top freshman classes in all of college fencing for the 2007-08 season that was led by elite foilists. Hayley Reese, Zach Schirtz and Steve Kubik - all went on to earn All-American honors in 2008. For the 2009 season, Kvaratskhelia has also helped bring in 2008 U.S. Olympian Gerek Meinhardt and Radmilla Sarkisova, ranked as high as 90th within the past year in the FIE World Junior Rankings, to bolster an already deep and talented foil squad.

Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, Kvaratskhelia transformed Kanza from a small recreational club into one of the nation's top foil centers. His fencers at Kanza - which included the Kubik brothers and their current Notre Dame teammate Teddy Hodges - combined to win three USFA national men's open foil team championships, with six of his Kanza fencers going on to compete at the Division I level as scholarship athletes.

Named the 2002 USFA national development coach of the year, Kvaratskhelia molded his fencers at Kanza into top competitors on the national and international levels. His Kanza fencers combined to be national finalists 15 times, while receiving nearly 50 national medals. Former Kanza fencers Ryan Dunn and Chris Miller were members of the U.S. Junior National Team before going on to successful collegiate careers (Miller as an All-American at Penn State and Dunn at Air Force.) Kanza product Christina Tillman also went on to fence at Air Force while Eric McConkey joined her as a Division I competitor at Cleveland State.

Known previously as the Coyote Fencing Club, the Kanza foil center had a roster of only five active fencers when Kvaratskhelia arrived in 1996 but that number of active competitors grew to a bustling gym full of 30 fencers by 2005.

During his time at Kanza, Kvaratskhelia worked cooperatively with many coaches throughout the United States and from overseas. Kanza has hosted an impressive list of nationally-ranked fencers during recent years, with those elite foilists including the likes of Kurt Getz, the Kubik brothers, Andras Horanyi, Meinhardt and Tamara Najm. Kanza also welcomed more than 60 out-of-state fencers for its 2005 summer training camps and worked an "exchange" program with clubs in Russia and Ukraine, allowing fencers from his homeland and Kansas to train in an overseas setting. Kanza likewise has sponsored community outreach programs while helping grow the sport of fencing throughout the state.

Kvaratskhelia - who became a U.S. citizen in 2004 - developed an elite four-fencer team of youth men's foilists at Kanza, with that group winning USFA national titles in the open category during 2001, '02 and '04. The Kanza foilists brought home the bronze from the 2006 USFA Summer Nationals, led by current Notre Dame fencers Mark and Steve Kubik.

After immigrating to the United States in 1994, Kvaratskhelia stayed active in his own fencing career by competing in domestic and international events. He placed fifth in the open competition at a 1996 North American Cup and fenced at World Cup events in 1998 and '99. Kvaratskhelia first ventured into coaching in 1994, assisting Vladimir Nazlymov (now head coach at Ohio State) at Central Fencing Club in Kansas City and at the satellite Lawrence Fencing Club. Two years later, he accepted the challenge in Salina and spent 10 years building Kanza into a nationally-recognized club.

Kvaratskhelia grew up in the Soviet republic of Georgia and began fencing in 1988 at the age of 13. He progressed quickly and was a member of the Georgian National Foil Team from 1990-94, during which time he fenced alongside the likes of Vladimir Aptiaouri (a member of the U.S.S.R. foil team that won the gold at the 1988 Olympics). Kvaratskhelia took home the bronze medal at the 1990 Soviet Junior National Championship - shortly before Georgia declared its independence - and he later had an impressive 11th-place finish at the 1992 European Championship.

Noted for his tremendous communication skills, Kvaratskhelia is fluent in Russian, Georgian and English. He received his bachelor's degree in physical education and sport in 1993, from the Georgian State Physical Training Institute in his hometown of Tbilisi. He also received a sports journalism certificate from that institution ('92) and pursued graduate studies in journalism at Tbilisi State University in 1993, prior to coming to the United States.

Kvaratskhelia and his wife, Dani Edson, have a six-year-old daughter Maya.