Ralph Tedeschi was part of a three-man team that helped Rutgers men’s fencing to the 1949 co-national championship title by winning the NCAA title in foil.
Tedeschi was joined by Rutgers Athletics Hall of Famer and NCAA saber champion Al Treves and Jay Funston, who placed 11th in epee, at the 1949 NCAA championships.
Tedeschi won the foil title as the championships were expanded to a two-day event and, for the first time, the format was a complete round-robin in each weapon. Tedeschi opened up competition winning 10-of-13 decisions en route to capturing 24 of his 27 overall bouts on his way to the national foil title.
The 1950 season saw Tedeschi help Rutgers win 10 of 12 meets, however, a bout of pneumonia sidelined him from the 1950 Intercollegiate Fencing Association Championship and a chance to defend his title.
In 1992, he was retroactively named a first-team All-American by the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association for his first-place foil finish in 1949.
A native of Somerville, New Jersey, Tedeschi arrived at Rutgers as a high school foil champion from Barringer High School (Newark, N.J.).
He passed away in 2015.
