St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
NAC D1, Junior Tourn.
Washington Snags Silver at January North American Cup
1/18/2012 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
Jan. 18, 2012
QUEENS, N.Y. (Jan. 17, 2012) - The St. John's fencing team set the bar high at the December NAC, where redshirt junior Daryl Homer won a gold medal, sophomore Anna Limbach won bronze, and three other St. John's fencers placed in the top-10 of their respected events.
However, the Red Storm rolled into Portland, Ore. this past weekend with high expectations with 12 total representatives competing in 10 different events. Six of the 12 competed in two events over the course of the weekend - a first for the 2011-12 season.
POWER TO THE YOUTH
Participants 20 years old or younger are allowed to compete in both junior and div. 1 events. Sophomores Alexandra Tannous, Wilfred Curiouso, Max Blitzer and Eli Schenkel and freshmen Melissa Corona and Isis Washington - all younger than 20 years old - competed in an extra event this past weekend.
In all four of her NAC competitions in 2011, Washington finished 14th or better. After finishing in 62nd place in div. 1 women's epee on Saturday, Washington got a second chance to add to her already impressive resume on the national circuit by competing in the junior event on Monday.
Entering the table of 128 as the no. 18 seed, Washington rallied off five consecutive victories, including wins over the no. 2 and no. 7 seeds, to reach the finals. But her upset-streak came to an end and she had to settle for silver when the no. 13 seed defeated her in the gold medal match. This is the second medal Washington has earned in NAC competition - the first coming in January of last year when she won bronze in Dallas.
Members of the St. John's fencing squad have now collected a gold, silver, and a bronze medal in NAC competition during the 2011-12 season
Of St. John's fencers, Washington competed in the most bouts (20) over the course of the weekend, and was the only one to reach a gold medal match.
TOP TEN FINISHES
The second-highest finish by a current member of the Red Storm was Watson's eighth place finish in div. 1 men's epee.
Watson, a former member of the U.S. Junior National Team, was eliminated from the table of 64 in last month's NAC and had to settle for a 38th place finish.
This weekend was different. After receiving the no. 94 seed in the massive field of 238 competitors, Watson won five-consecutive bouts, four of which were over higher-seeded opponents, to reach the table of 8.
In the table of 8, Watson squared off against Benjamin Bratton, an alumnus of the St. John's fencing program and a prospective Olympian for the 2012 Games in London. Experience had the edge in this matchup as Bratton bested Watson, 15-11. Bratton then went on to finish in sixth place.
But Watson's day wasn't over and his toughest matchups were yet to come. In the consolation bracket, he was paired up against both no. 1 seeds. Undaunted, Watson routed the first no. 1 seed, 15-5, but lost to the second one, the eventual gold medal winner, in the following round. Watson finished in eighth place after winning 9 of his 13 bouts in the event.
The final top-ten finish came from Curioso, who placed ninth in the junior men's foil event. After going undefeated in pool play, Curioso received the no. 3 seed and a first round bye. He then rallied off two victories, but was eliminated in the table of 16. His ninth place was his first top-10 finish on the national circuit in the 2011-12 season.
Curioso also competed in the div. 1 men's foil event - he placed 43rd.
FRIENDLY FIRE
With three consistent men's foil participants on the national circuit, chances were that two of them would meet on the same strip at some point. Eli Schenkel and Max Blitzer did just that in the junior men's foil event this past weekend.
After both no. 20 Schenkel and no. 45 Blitzer collected victories in the table of 128, they were matched up in the table of 64. The match of Red Storm vs. Red Storm resulted in a 15-10 victory for Schenkel, who then used that momentum to collect a third-consecutive victory in the table of 32. However, Schenkel's run came to an end in the table of 16 where he was defeated by the no. 3 seed, 15-12 - he finished in 13th place. Blitzer finished 44th.
Schenkel and Blitzer also competed in the div. 1 men's foil event, but there was no rematch. Schenkel placed 34th and Blitzer finished in 40th place.
TRACKING THE OLYMPIANS
Homer, a gold medal winner at the previous NAC, went undefeated in pool play in div. 1 men's saber to receive the no. 1 overall seed and a first round bye. After defeating his first opponent, 15-9, he was upset by no. 33 Rhys Douglas by a score of 15-10 in the table of 32. Douglas went on to place sixth. Homer finished in 17th place.
Also seeking a spot on the 2012 U.S. Olympic roster, Dagmara Wozniak flew out to Portland to participate in div. 1 women's saber this weekend, but a hamstring injury she sustained before the trip prevented her from competing.
"It was a decision I made the day of competition," Wozniak said. "I wasn't feeling the ability to fence 100% so I didn't want to fence halfway and risk worsening the injury."
Wozniak fully expects to compete in the World Cups in a couple of weeks.
ADDITIONAL RESULTS
Melissa Corona competed in both div. 1 and junior women's foil. She finished in 31st in the div. 1 event and 38th in the junior event.
Alexandra Tannous also competed in two events - div. 1 and junior women's saber. She finished in 98th place in the div. 1 event and 31st place in the junior event.
In the largest field in the NAC, senior Nicholas Vomero finished in 78th place in div. 1 men's epee and sophomore Andrew Dobbie placed 100th.
NEXT EVENT
St. John's will be at home on Saturday, Jan. 21 to host the annual St. John's Invitational. The event will begin at 10 a.m. in Carnesecca Arena. To stay current on the Red Storm fencing program, follow the team on Twitter: (@STJ_Fencing)
Players Mentioned
