St. John's University Athletics
World Fencing Championships Recap
10/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
Oct. 18, 2011
- Complete Interview with Coach Gelman can be found here.
CATANIA, Italy - Led by St. John's fencing Head Coach Yury Gelman, recent St. John's graduate Dagmara Wozniak and redshirt junior Daryl Homer, both strengthened their 2012 Olympic chances by leading their respective teams to top-eight finishes at the World Fencing Championships in Catania, Italy.
"I've known them both for many, many years," said Gelman, the U.S. Saber Coach, "They are my personal students and coaching them is a very enjoyable experience. Their Olympic chances are very, very high and I hope they qualify and most importantly, win their medals. I am really proud of them."
In addition to winning a bronze medal in the team women's saber event, Wozniak placed 12th in the individual event. It was the four-time All-American's highest-career Senior Worlds finish. Among the four members of the U.S. women's saber team, the 15th-seeded Wozniak had the second-best finish in the individual event.
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. Among 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.
Homer, who entered the Senior Worlds in second place for U.S. Olympic qualification in men's saber, finished 34th in the individual event. The two-time individual NCAA Champion rebounded, however, to lead the U.S. men's saber team to an eighth-place finish, collecting the match-clinching touch against France in the table of 16. The squad was eventually defeated by Italy, 45-42, in the quarterfinals.
"Daryl did not perform as well as we hoped in the individual competition," Coach Gelman said. "But he did lead the team to a top-eight finish and a win over France, which we have not done before, and almost led the team to a win over Italy [the host nation]."
When asked to rate Homer's chances of qualifying for the Olympics, Gelman replied by placing them at, "99 percent." Homer will be taking a redshirt this season to focus solely on Olympic qualification.
Homer and Wozniak were actually among eight current or former St. John's fencers that competed in the Senior Worlds - a feat that Coach Gelman has not seen in his 16 years at St. John's.
The group consisted of sophomore Anna Limbach (Germany), Benjamin Bratton (USA, Class of '07), Joanna Guy (Canada, Class of `09), Doron Levit (Israel, Class of '02), Emese Takacs (Hungary, Class of '03), and Sanne Gars (Sweden, 2009-2010).
Bratton, a three-time All-American at St. John's, finished 53rd in the individual men's epee event - the largest field at the Senior Worlds. He also helped lead the U.S. men's epee team to a 15th-place finish.
Takacs, a member of the 2001 National Championship-winning team, led the Hungarian squad to a top-10 finish in the team women's epee event.
Limbach, who finished eighth as a freshman at the 2011 NCAA Championships, had the second-best individual finish among the eight St. John's fencers at the Senior Worlds, placing 27th in the individual women's saber event. Upon her return to the U.S., she will begin attending regularly scheduled practices to prepare for the 2011-12 season.
The St. John's fencing team begins competition on Nov. 11 at the Junior North American Cup in Austin, Texas. The complete 2011-12 schedule can be found here.
Players Mentioned
