St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Day Four
November NAC Recap: Homer Grabs Gold, McDonald Snags Silver
11/13/2012 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
Nov. 13, 2012
QUEENS, N.Y. - Fifteen Red Storm fencers competed in the November North American Cup in Virginia Beach, Va. and two walked away with medals. Redshirt senior and 2012 Olympian Daryl Homer won gold in Div. 1 Men's Saber, while freshman Margaret McDonald won silver in Junior Women's Saber. The November NAC, which took place from Nov. 9-12, was the second of four NACs in which the Red Storm will send representatives. St. John's begins NCAA competition on Dec. 2 with the Brandeis Invitational in Waltham, Mass.
To reach the gold medal event, Homer defeated fellow two-time NCAA Champion Aleksander Ochocki of Penn State by a score of 15-8 in the semi-finals. Homer then earned the gold by defeating seventeen-year-old Eli Dershwitz, a two-time Cadet World Cup gold medalist, by a score of 15-7. Homer now has three career gold medals at Div. 1 competitions in North American Cups - each of which have come in the past three years.
McDonald, who placed 16th at the October NAC, was seeded 13th in the Junior Women's Saber bracket and won five bouts on her way to the finals. However, she was defeated by the No. 19 seed, 15-12, and was saddled with the silver medal. The freshman also competed in the Div. 1 Women's Saber competition and placed 11th.
Three other Red Storm fencers made top-16 finishes in their respective events. After winning bronze in Div. 1 Men's Epee at the October NAC, senior Adam Watson followed up with a 10th place finish this past weekend. His classmate Sean Buckley, placed 11th in Div. 1 Men's Saber after being bested in the table of 16 by two-time Olympian Timothy Morehouse. Despite being seeded 40th, junior Max Blitzer made the highest St. John's finish in Div. 1 Men's Foil by placing 16th.
Men's foil - the deepest squad on the St. John's roster - added two other top-32 placements in the Div. 1 event. Junior Eli Schenkel and freshman Michele Caporizzi finished 20th and 22nd, respectively. The fourth men's foilist to compete, junior Wilfred Curioso, placed 148th.
Sophomore Isis Washington made her second top-20 finish of the NAC season, placing 19th in Junior Women's Epee. She also competed in Div. 1 Women's Epee and finished 61st.
In women's foil, freshman Marta Hausman finished 41st in the Div. 1 event, while sophomore Melissa Corona placed 46th - both were making their first NAC appearances of 2012. Corona also competed in Junior Women's Foil and finished 96th.
Also making their first NAC appearances of the season, juniors Anna Limbach and Alexandra Tannous placed 40th and 106th, respectively, in Div. 1 Women's Saber.
Freshman Trevor Shepard finished eighth in junior men's epee, while adding a 149th place finish on the Div. 1 cicuit. His squadmate, junior Andrew Dobbie, placed 153rd on the Div. 1 circuit. Red Storm alum Nicholas Vomero also competed in the event and finished 66th.
A summary of the results can be found below:
Men's Sabre
Daryl Homer - 1st place
Sean Buckley - 11th place
Men's Foil
Max Blitzer - 16th
Michele Caporizzi - 20th
Eli Schenkel - t-22nd
Wilfred Curioso - 148th
Men's Epee
Adam Watson - 10th (Div. 1)
Andrew Dobbie - 153rd (Div. 1)
Trevor Shepard - 149th place (Div. 1), 8th place (Junior)
Women's Sabre
Margaret McDonald - 11th place (Div. 1); 2nd place (Junior)
Anna Limbach - 40th place
Alexandra Tannous - 106th place
Women's Foil
Marta Hausman - 40th place
Melissa Corona - 46th place (Div. 1); 96th place (Junior)
Women's Epee
Isis Washington - 61st place (Div. 1); 19th place (Junior)
Players Mentioned
