The Official Website Of Connecticut College Athletics

An accomplished fencer who received regional and national recognition, the late Laurie Maxon Katz '65 excelled on several levels as a player, coach, official, and administrator.
 
Competitively, she was the New England Women’s Intercollegiate Foil Champion in each of her four years at the college from 1962-65. After graduation, she continued her high level of competition, winning the Oklahoma State Championship (1968), the New England AFLA Women’s Foil Team Championship (1973), and the New England USFA Women’s Sabre Championship (1988). She also earned recognition as the USFA Senior Foil gold medalist (1990), and USFA Senior Women’s Epee bronze medalist (1987).
 
As a coach, Maxon Katz was an assistant coach at Brandeis University from 1974-78 before taking over the head coaching spot at Wellesley College from 1979-92. While at Wellesley, her teams earned an overall 137-71 record along with several honors and awards, including New England Champion (1984) and Runner-Up (1982, 1991).

During her Wellesley tenure, she was invited to participate in the National Coaches Summer Training Seminars (1985-90) and was selected to serve as a team coach at the 1991 U.S. Olympic Festival. At the NCAA Nationals Championships, Wellesley finished in 11th place. Individually, Maxon Katz’s players produced nine different finalists in the New England Intercollegiate Individual Championships and five JV individual championships.

In addition, she was on the staff of the Watertown (MA) Academy of Fencing (1980 and 1989-91) and the Carroll Center from the Blind (1990-92). In the mid 1990s, Maxon-Katz was one of the only four women provosts/fencing masters in the country, as she mentored and produced two fencing coaches. Maxon-Katz also earned stature as an official at the USFA National Junior Olympics (1979), USFA National Championships (1981, 1983, 1989), and the U.S. Olympic Festival (1990).

Administratively, she served in several leadership roles, including: president of the New England Women's Intercollegiate Fencing Association (1981-92), president of Salle D’Armes Richards (1983), and president of the Boston Fencing Club (1984).  Maxon Katz also was on the Board of Directors for the Boston Fencing Club (1985) and the New England chapter of the USFA (1978, 1979, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989).
 
After a courageous battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), Laurie passed away in November 1996. She is survived by her husband, Norman, and daughter, Leslie Katz Genova.