PHILADELPHIA – Penn Athletics was saddened to learn of the passing of Bob Parmacek W'53. Parmacek is a member of Penn Athletics Class III, leading the men's fencing program to its first NCAA team title in 1952-53 and joining Jack Tori as the program's first individual NCAA champions that same year (Parmacek in sabre, Tori in epee).
 
Parmacek's illustrious fencing career at Penn began in 1949-50, and in four years of intercollegiate competition he helped the Quakers establish themselves as one of the premier fencing teams in the country.
 
As a freshman in 1949-50, Parmacek led the freshman fencing squad to a 13-2 overall record while competing in the foil. In 1951, as a member of the varsity fencing team, Parmacek helped the Quakers to a 24-10 record as Penn won the Eastern Intercollegiate Team Sabre Championship and finished second at the NCAA Fencing Championships. It was the first time since 1925 that Penn's fencing team placed anywhere in any event at the NCAAs. Parmacek finished second at Easterns in sabre and he was named captain for the following year by his teammates.
 
His junior year, Parmacek stepped up the pace for the Penn fencing program. Under the watchful eye of the legendary Maestro Lajos Csiszar, Penn went 8-2 during the regular season, finished second as a team at the NCAA Championships, and tied for fourth at the Eastern Intercollegiates. As Penn's captain that season, Parmacek tied for the NCAA Sabre Individual Championship and then placed third in the fence-off. He was named first-team All-American for his efforts at NCAAs. He took second at the Eastern Intercollegiate Sabre Championships and was the Philadelphia Divisional Sabre Champion. Parmacek was also appointed to the U.S. Olympic Squad in 1952. Off the tape, Parmacek was elected president of the Gladius Society and was nominated for the Steur Award for the junior most outstanding in Scholarship, Leadership and Personality. He also was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma National Scholastic Honorary Society and to Beta Alpha Psi National Accounting Fraternity.
 
Parmacek's fencing accomplishments were further heightened during his senior year in 1952-53. The team went 8-1, falling only to Navy, 15-12, on February 7. Parmacek earned the NCAA Sabre Championship, compiling a 32-1 record at the tournament, and his sabre victory provided the most dramatic action of the day. With two bouts remaining, he was trailing Navy's Frank Zimolzak, who was unbeaten through 30 bouts. Parmacek beat him, 5-2, to tie for the lead. Columbia's Steve Sobel then upset Zimolzak, 5-1, to deadlock Penn's ace. In the final bout, Parmacek scored three straight touches to defeat Sobel, 5-3, earning the national championship and first-team All-American honors.
 
The Quakers won their first NCAA Fencing Team Championship—which was held at Penn's Hutchinson Gymnasium—as the team combined for a 94-7 overall record in 1953. Parmacek won the Eastern Intercollegiate Sabre Championship, as well, while Penn finished second in that tournament after taking both the foil and epee team championships. 
 
Parmacek was awarded the Penn Minor Sports Outstanding Athlete Award at Ivy Day and graduated from the Wharton School of Business in 1953. After graduation, he was commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve and put on active duty. In 1955, as a member of the U.S. Military Fencing Team that competed in the Military World Championships in Cairo, Egypt, Parmacek finished second in the sabre competition. He was a member of the U.S. World Championship Team in Rome, Italy and was appointed to the 1956 U.S. Olympic Squad.
 
"Bob Parmacek and his teammates set the standard of achievement for the modern era of Penn Fencing," said longtime Penn fencing coach Dave Micahnik C'59. "His accomplishments in intercollegiate fencing made our high aspirations realistic. He was a champion—one of us—and an icon for future generations of Penn fencers to emulate."