Our team
Andrey Geva
Head Coach / Managing Director
2013-2021 Team USA National & Olympic Coach
USA Fencing Hall of Fame Inductee, Class 2024
40 years of coaching experience
2004 - Present, Houston & The Woodlands Locations
Coach Andrey is the founder of Alliance fencing Academy and is one of the preeminent epee coaches in the United States.
He served as the designated U.S. Women’s Epee National Team Head Coach from 2013-2021, leading the team to an unprecedented level of international success. Under his leadership, the U.S. Women’s Epee Team won its first ever gold medal on the World Cup Circuit in May 2018, followed by a historic Senior World Championship gold medal the following July. The U.S. National Women’s Epee Team finished the 2017-2018 season as the No. 1 team in the world, and the team retained its top level during the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 season. Coach Geva coached the Women’s Epee Team during both the Rio and Tokyo Olympics.
Since founding of Alliance Fencing Academy in 2004, Coach Geva has trained Olympians and World Team members at the senior, junior and cadet levels. Under his leadership Alliance Fencing produced 3 Olympians, 6 World Champions, multiple European Cadet Circuits and Junior World Cup champions and medalists, over 40 US national champions in all age categories and divisions.
In 2006, he was named the U.S. Fencing Association Developmental Coach of the Year. Coach Geva is USA Fencing Hall of Fame inductee, class 2024.
Prior to founding Alliance fencing Academy, Coach Andrey worked as the Senior Coach in Hebrew University in Jerusalem and as the Israeli National Team Coach, developing 6 Israeli National Champions, multiple Junior World Cup champions and finalists, and a Cadet World Championship bronze medalist. Due to his contribution to the Israeli National team, he was inducted in the Cosell Sports Hall of Fame in Jerusalem, Israel.
Natalie Dostert
Epee Coach
Team USA National & Olympic Coach
13 years of coaching experience
Coach Natalie worked as an epee coach at the Olympic Fencing Club from 2010 until 2015 in Bonn, Germany, where she was nominated as the designated fencing coach for the German Cadet National Team. Natalie is the current US Women’s Epee Head Coach, taking over after Andrey retired in 2021. She herself was a Junior National Team Champion. Coach Natalie joined Alliance Fencing Academy in 2015 and has been vital to the development of the club’s competitive fencers, producing highly ranking national and international fencing medalists.
Dorian Jimenez
Epee Coach
13 years of coaching experience
Learning fencing in Cuba, Coach Dorian found success as an athlete competing in national and international tournaments. He was a Junior National Cuban Champion and Junior World Cup finalist. Coach Dorian worked as Head Epee Coach and Fencing School Professor at “Manuel Fajardo” in the province of Villa Clara, in Cuba, producing many national and international medalists. Dorian joined Alliance in 2016 as an epee coach and has been instrumental in coaching and producing our national and international medalists.
Suzette Wheeler
Epee Coach / Home School Coordinator
16 years of coaching experience
Coach Wheeler started taking fencing lessons from Coach Andrey Geva in 1999. She participated in numerous North American Cup and U.S. National tournaments, eventually becoming a finalist at the Summer National Veteran Championships. Suzette joined Alliance as a coach in 2008 and has been imperative in training our national medalists in the Woodlands. Coach Wheeler also works as a home school coordinator, assisting those of Alliance competitive fencers who chose to dedicate more time to fencing.
Aleksandr (Sasha) Smerdin
Epee Coach
28 years of coaching experience
Coach Sasha joined Alliance Fencing Academy as an Epee Coach in 2019, after serving as Associate Head Coach at the Ohio State University. During his 18 years coaching at Ohio State, Coach Sasha helped lead the team to 3 NCAA team championship victories, 3 NCAA team runner-up finishes, 3 individual epee titles, and 18 individual 1st team All-American finishes. Originally trained as both a fencer and a coach in Kyrgyzstan, Coach Sasha was a member of the Kyrgyz national team from 1992-2000. Sasha brings a technical and classical approach to the Alliance coaching staff.
Carlos Santa Maria
Epee Coach
14 years of coaching experience
Coach Carlos began fencing in 1990 in Guatemala. He was Guatemalan National Champion multiple times, participating in Junior and Senior World Championships and Pan-American Games during his fencing career. Coach Carlos achieved top-8 results at both the Central American and Caribbean Games. His coaching career began in 2010 when he became the Guatemalan National Youth Coach. Coach Carlos moved to the United States in 2013 where he coached at various clubs before joining Alliance as a coach in 2018.
Vika Irby
Office Manager
7 years of coaching experience
Vika is Alliance Office Manager for all locations and she in charge of scheduling all private lessons between coaches and students.
Vika fenced competitively for Kazakhstan, becoming a national epee medalist in her home country. She joined Alliance Fencing Academy as an Assistant Coach in 2016 and has been influential in the development of Alliance’s competitive youth fencers.
Thomas (TJ) Petrosewicz
Epee Assistant & Youth Coach
Coach TJ began fencing at Alliance Fencing Academy in 2012 and joined as an assistant & youth coach in 2022. He has participated in numerous U.S. National and North American Cup tournaments, and some of his top results are 3rd at the 2015 Cadet Junior Olympics, 2nd in Junior Team at the 2016 Junior Olympics, and 10th at the 2019 NCAA Championships. TJ focuses his instruction of young students on fundamental skills, strategy, and physical training.
Luisa Santa Maria
Epee Assistant & Youth Coach
Luisa began fencing in Guatemala in 2010. She was the Women’s Epee Youth National Champion for multiple years, culminating in a Gold Medal at the 2012 Pan-American Youth Championship in Costa Rica. Luisa moved to the United States in 2014, and started training at Alliance in 2015. Luisa has been an assistant coach and youth coach with Alliance since 2019.
Jamie Miller
Epee Coach
28 years of coaching experience
Before coming to Alliance, Coach Jamie Miller worked with GB Teams at World and European Championships at Cadet, Junior and Senior levels for a number of years.
Although taught in both the Italian and French schools of Fencing, Coach Jamie studied fencing coaching at Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary, was working alongside Germany’s Olympic coaches and most recently spent two years working at the International Fencing School in China. In 2021, he was recognized at the British Fencing awards for his outstanding contribution to innovation and raising standards.
As a head coach at some of the world’s top private schools and coach to Cambridge University he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience related to combining top level sport with high level academic achievements.
Natasha Geva
Accountant, Advertising,
Media and PR Coordinator
Mrs. Geva is the driving force behind the success of Alliance Fencing Academy. While Coach Geva focuses on the success of the athletes, Natasha works behind the scenes to ensure the success of Alliance Fencing Academy as one of the highest ranking clubs in the nation. Natasha is also the point of contact for media inquiries.
Alex Fray
Epee Coach / Athlete
2 years of coaching experience
Coach Alex is a long time Alliance fencer who is currently is one of the top junior epee fencers in the nation. He was a Junior North American Cup Champion and multiple time medalist in cadet, junior, and senior events. He is also a current member of Team USA international squad.
Alex bring current modern views on the epee fencing and his personal fencing experience to his students.
Oleg Knysh
Epee Coach / Athlete
2 years of coaching experience
Born in the U.S. Coach Oleg learned fencing in St. Petersburg, Russia when he was a child. He was a Cadet and Junior National Champion and a member of the Russian National Team. As an elite athlete Oleg won several Junior World Cup tournaments and he was an Olympic sparring partner for the senior team.
Oleg moved back to the U.S. in 2023 where he continued his fencing journey and started his coaching career at Alliance.
Oleg is one of the top U.S. epee fencers. He was a Senior North American Cup Champion, two-time silver medalist, and he is a current member of Team USA international squad.
Coach Oleg bring current modern views on the epee fencing and his personal fencing experience to his students.
