Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Feb. 3, 2004, edition 1 / Page 4
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4 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2004 Swordplay runs deep in Piantadosi family BY BRANDON COWARD STAFF WRITER Thirty-five years ago, Steve Piantadosi joined the North Carolina fencing team and picked up a sabre for the first time. Last year, when his son of the same name decided to attend UNC, the sword was passed to a new generation. “I knew UNC had a good pro gram and that he would fit in well there,” the elder Piantadosi said. “Steve had contacted most of the other coaches nationally, and I think he recognized Coach (Ron) Miller’s positive attributes.” Unlike his dad, Piantadosi whose Tar Heels went 3-2 at this weekend’s Brandeis Invitational had been fencing for ten years before he set foot on the campus. He first picked up a sword at age eight and was soon a member of the Chesapeake Fencing Club. 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AA Get a Medium 1 -Topping Pizza AA Get a Large ■ 1-Topping Pizza AA Get 2 Medium -Topping Pizzas JL ■ Get a Medium 2-Topping Pizza w/ an order off Wings OA Get 3 Medium 1-Topping Pizzas “Steve was regularly beating col legiate-level fencers when he was still in high school,” the elder Piantadosi said. “By the time he hit the door here, he was a much bet ter, more experienced fencer than I ever was.” The younger Piantadosi started out fencing against older fencers, something that his dad says helped him improve. “Asa young fencer he was decent, but it seems like he was always at the bottom of the age bracket,” Piantadosi’s father said. “Starting young allowed him to develop a lot of skill and character and an ability to think on the strip.” Asa youngster, Piantadosi’s father instilled in him a certain reverence for UNC fencing. “I grew up with the understand ing that Carolina fencing is holy,” Piantadosi said. “Dad would always say stufflike, ‘lf Ron Miller Sports were here, he wouldn’t let you do that.’” All fathers and sons have their similarities and differences. The father believes that he and his son share a basic way of looking at the world. “We’re both basically cerebral kinds of people,” Piantadosi’s father said. “We tend to approach things logically, rationally.” Though they share the same blood and a similar outlook, the elder Piantadosi said he and his son are still very different people. He said that the differences can be characterized by the stereotyp ical personality traits of the weapons they chose to fence. “I think one of Coach Miller’s skills is assigning people to weapons that suit them both phys ically and emotionally,” the elder Piantadosi said. “I think his tem perament is suited to foil and mine was more suited to sabre.” ■ . * "4 Tuck Business Bridge Program June 14-July 9, 2004 July 19-August 13, 2004 Dartmouth College ll I Hanover, New Hampshire : 'V■ T--. C /— : -X ; T/-.. -f. - v / : Career advantage in a tight job market In just one month next summer, the Tuck Find out more! Business Bridge Prograrfl connects juniors and seniors in liberal arts and sciences to On-campus presentation meaningful business careers. Wednesday, February 4 6:30 p.m. An integrated curriculum delivers practical Hanes Hall analytical skills —complemented by team UNC students David Keith, Lee consulting projects, visits with executives, Maschmeyer, and Andrew Wilson resume sessions, career panels, and attended the Bridge Program last summer, interviews —to give you an advantage in recruiting. The Bridge Program is taught by Can’t make the session? Contact us at: the same top-ranked faculty who have made 603-646-0252 Tuck’s MBA program a world leader. tuck.biz.bridgeedartmouth.edu www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/bridge IASI Tuck School of Business llilil at Dartmouth Sabre fencers have generally been seen as the “wild-child” per sonality type, mischievous and aggressive. Foil fencers are gener ally more detail-oriented and reserved. Piantadosi says his father influ enced his training by steering him toward a style more like that of a sabre fencer. “Dad has tried to make me a more intense fencer more bent on demolishing my opponent, psy chologically and physically,” Piantadosi said. “I’m pretty passive and my dad has always tried to make me more comfortable with wrecking someone’s day.” Piantadosi gave the example of a meet at Johns Hopkins six years ago. His opponent kept spinning completely around, frustrating his attempts to score. The elder Piantadosi told his son to hit the opponent in the unprotected area behind his mask next time he spun around. The younger Piantadosi never did take his father’s advice, but he got the message: don’t be afraid to do what’s necessary to defeat your opponent. Of all the things that the father and son share, perhaps the most curious is their tradition of acci dents involving Miller’s posses sions. Coming home from a meet, the elder Piantadosi was riding Miller’s motorcycle. As he reached back to adjust his sword, he lost control CORRECTION A page 3 photo caption in Monday’s paper incorrectly identi fied Heather Stevens as a UNC cheerleader. She is actually a member of the UNC dance team. To report an error, contact Managing Editor Daniel Thigpen at dthigpen@email.unc.edu. Mg (Ear Hrri and slammed the vehicle into a tree, totaling it. The younger Piantadosi, in a somewhat less destructive inci dent, carelessly flung a fencing shoe through the glass window of Miller’s trophy case. And though the game may have changed over the years, UNC fenc ing hasn’t. Ron Miller is still coach ing Steve Piantadosi, and Steve Piantadosi still is breaking his stuff. Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu. (Eljr Mg (Ear Mrri P.O. Box 3257, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 Elyse Ashbum, Editor, 962-4086 Advertising & Business, 962-1163 News, Features, Sports, 962-0245 One copy per person; additional copies may be purchased at The Daily Tar Heel for $.25 each. 0 2004 DTH Publishing Corp. All rights reserved
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Feb. 3, 2004, edition 1
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