St. John's University Athletics
Homer, Wozniak Place Second At U.S. Fencing National Championships
4/19/2011 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
April 19, 2011
QUEENS, N.Y. - Red Storm fencers Dagmara Wozniak and Daryl Homer each captured second-place finishes at the 2011 U.S. National Championships in Portland., Oregon this weekend.
Wozniak advanced through pool competition with a record of 6-0, earning the No. 1 seed. After receiving a bye in the second round, she defeated Celina Merza, 15-4, to move to the round of eight, where she defeated eighth-seeded Nicole Glon, 15-5. The Red Storm senior beat fourth-seeded Sarah Pak, 15-7, in the semifinals, but fell to the No. 2 seed, Daria Schneider in the championship bout, 15-13.
After posting a record of 5-1 in pool competition, Homer earned the third seed in the table of 128, where he received a first-round bye. He defeated Kaito Street, 15-13 and Andrew Fischl, 15-7, to advance to the round of eight, where he bested Will Spear, 15-8. In the semifinals, Homer defeated Avery Zuck, 15-14, in a rematch of their 2011 NCAA Championship bout. Finally in the gold medal match, the junior fell to 2010 National Champion and 2008 Olympic silver medalist, Tom Morehouse.
"Daryl is one of the best fencers in the country - arguably the best fencer in the country - so, for me, it was great to fence a strong bout against him," Morehouse said. "He's a great fencer. Hopefully we'll be on the 2012 Olympic Team together."
Homer and Wozniak will begin qualifying competition for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London this month. Selection to the U.S. Olympic team is comprised of results from 8 World Cup and Grand Prix competitions between now and March 31, 2012, the 2011 World Championships to be held in October, as well as two domestic results.
The U.S. men's saber team will consist of three athletes and one reserve. The women's saber event will not have a team competition at the 2012 Olympics, so the U.S. will send two representatives to London.
Wozniak, a four time All-American, and Homer, a three time All-American and two-time defending NCAA Champion, helped the Red Storm to a third-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Championships. St. John's has finished sixth or better at the national championships in each year since 1993. In team competition, St. John's has one national championship (2001) and five second-place finishes (1995, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2010). In total, St. John's has won 17 individual NCAA titles under head coach Yury Gelman, more than any other school during that period.
