St. John's University Athletics
Wozniak Places 12th At World Fencing Championships
10/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
Oct. 13, 2011
CATANIA, Italy - Recent St. John's graduate and four-time All-American, Dagmara Wozniak, boosted her Olympic chances with a 12th-place finish in the individual women's saber event on Oct. 12 at the World Fencing Championships in Catania, Italy. It it was the first top-16 finish for Wozniak, who has been a member of four Senior Worlds Teams.
Entering the table of 64 as the No. 15 seed, Wozniak fell behind, 2-0, to her first opponent, the No. 50 seed Margarita Tschomakova (BUL). However, Wozniak collected five quick touches to pull ahead 5-2. She then retained the lead for the remainder of the match, cruising to a 15-9 victory.
Wozniak pulled off a late victory in the table of 32 against 18th-seeded Dina Galiakbarova (RUS) in a match that saw four lead changes. With the match tied at 13-13, Wozniak landed two-consecutive touches to win, 15-13, and advance to the next round.
In the table of 16, Wozniak was matched against the No. 2 seed and two-time World silver medalist, Olga Kharlan (UKR). Trailing for the majority of the match, Wozniak rallied at the mid-way point, stringing together four consecutive touches to turn a 8-5 deficit into a 9-8 lead. However, Kharlan answered back with six-consecutive touches to take a 14-9 lead. Wozniak added one more touch before she was eliminated, 15-10.
Kharlan advanced all the way to the semifinals where she was defeated, 15-7, by the eventual champion, third-seeded Sophia Velikaia (UKR).
Velikaia defeated Wozniak's U.S. teammate and No. 1 seed, Mariel Zagunis, by a score of 15-14 to earn the gold medal.
Of the four members of U.S. women's saber team, Wozniak had the second-best finish in the individual event. The No. 13 seed, Ibtihaj Muhammad, finished 25th and the no. 16 seed, Daria Schneider, placed 26th. Both were defeated in the table of 64.
In order to qualify for the U.S. women's saber team at the 2012 Olympics in London, Wozniak must finish in the top-12 in the world in the Adjusted Olympic Rankings, and within that, be among the top-two Americans on that list by March 31, 2012. Amongst those Wozniak is competing with for a spot are her teammates at the Senior Worlds - Mariel Zagunis, Ibtihaj Muhammad, and Daria Schneider.
Because women's saber is no longer a team Olympic event, each nation can qualify a maximum of two women's saber athletes. During the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Wozniak served as the alternate for the three-member U.S. women's saber squad.
Wozniak returns to action on Oct. 15 at 10 a.m. Central European Summer Time in the women's saber team event.
Redshirt junior Daryl Homer will return to action on Oct. 15 at 10 a.m. Central European Summer Time in the men's saber team event. Homer, the No. 13 seed in the individual men's saber event, was eliminated from the table of 64 by the no. 52 seed Tiberiu Dolniceanu (ROU) on Oct. 12. Homer entered the Senior Worlds in second place for 2012 Olympic Qualification in men's saber.
By going to FIE.org, fans can catch a live stream of the events as well as get live results.
A schedule for the remaining events at the World Fencing Championships can be found below. Please note all times are in Central European Summer Time, which is six hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.
INDIVIDUAL
Oct. 13 Women's Epee, 8:30 a.m. CEST
Men's Foil, 12:45 p.m. CEST
TEAMS
Oct. 14 Women's Foil, 9 a.m. CEST
Men's Saber, 10 a.m. CEST
Oct. 15 Men's Epee, 9 a.m. CEST
Women's Saber, 10 a.m. CEST
Oct. 16 Women's Epee, 9 a.m. CEST
Men's Foil, 10 a.m. CEST
Players Mentioned
