Roland Wommack attended the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, where he started out fencing foil, but struggled with that his plebe year and switched to épée. Wommack won the NCAA title in épée in 1958 and 1959, becoming the first college fencer to defend his title in épée, and was named NCAA fencer of the year in 1959. In 1959 Paletta helped the Naval Academy win the NCAA team title. His teammates, Joseph Paletta, Jr. and Alfonso Morales, won the foil and sabre, respectively, that year at NCAAs, the first time one school had won all three individual weapons. Wommack also fenced at the 1959 Pan American Games where he won a gold medal in team épée with the US team. In 1960 he was a US Navy ensign.