St. John's University Athletics
Championship Season: Fencing Primed For NCAA Regionals
3/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
March 9, 2012
QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's will be amongst 19 schools competing at Boston College in the Northeast Regionals on Sunday, March 11. The Red Storm will send 20 fencers, which ties for the second-most competitors in the Regionals.
NCAA Regionals are not a team event, as participants will compete individually for NCAA Championship qualification. In last year's Regionals, seniors Marat Israelian and Nicholas Vomero squared off in the final round. Vomero prevailed and went on to place 12th at the NCAA Championships. Isrealian went on to win his second-consecutive gold medal.
Sophomore Eli Schenkel claimed the 2011 Regionals Championship in men's foil as a freshman and then went on to finish 13th at the NCAA Championships.
Also in last year's Regionals, senior Daryl Homer and alumnus Dagmara Wozniak took the top spot in men's saber and women's saber, respectfully. This year, the duo has been seeking Olympic qualification for the 2012 London Games.
Of the six events at the 2012 Northeast Regionals, St. John's owns five of the No. 1 seeds. Every men's squad possesses two of the three-spots in their respective event.
MEN'S SABER
Junior Sean Buckley owns the No. 1 seed and senior Alejandro Rojas checks in at No. 3. Sophomore Daniel Tobin rounds out the squad at No. 23. In last year's NCAA Championship, Buckley placed eighth, earning All-America honors for the second straight year. Homer, who is redshirting this season, won his second-consecutive NCAA Championship.
MEN'S FOIL
Sophomore Max Blitzer improved upon his 2010-11 campaign to lead the foil squad with 41 wins this year. He enters the Regionals with the No. 1 seed. Last year's NCAA Regionals Champion, sophomore Eli Schenkel, is ranked No. 3. Sophomore Wilfred Curioso rounds out the all-sophomore foil squad with the No. 19 seed.
MEN'S EPEE
Last week's Primetime Performer and men's epee wins-leader, junior Adam Watson, earned the No. 1 overall seed. Watson did not qualify for the NCAA Championships last year as each school can qualify a maximum of two fencers per event. Senior Marat Israelian, the 2010 and 2011 NCAA Champion, is ranked No. 2 in this year's Regionals. Senior Nicholas Vomero has the No. 8 seed and sophomore Andrew Dobbie is ranked 26th.
WOMEN'S SABER
Despite missing the Temple Invitational because she was competing with the German National Team at the London World Cup, sophomore Anna Limbach received the No. 1 seed in women's saber. As a freshman, Limbach placed eighth at the 2011 NCAA Championship. She will be joined at the NCAA Regionals by sophomore Alexandra Tannous, who has the No. 6 seed, and redshirt senior Martyna Wieczorek, who has the No. 7 seed.
WOMEN'S FOIL
Junior Evgeniya Kirpicheva earned the No. 1 seed in women's foil after leading the entire St. John's team in wins (47) during the regular season. The women's team captain has won bronze at past two NCAA Championships. No. 4 junior Irina Koroleva, who placed fifth at the 2011 NCAA Championships, and freshman Melissa Corona, who has the No. 13 seed, will join her.
WOMEN'S EPEE
St. John's qualified four women's epee fencers for the NCAA Regionals. Sophomores Alina Ferdman and Zsofia Fath both have NCAA Championship experience and have been seeded No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Freshman Isis Washington earned the No. 6 seed and Junior Fruszina Palinkas checks in at No. 11.
As a team, 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 19 individual NCAA titles and Head Coach Yury Gelman has led Red Storm fencers to All-America status more than 100 times.
For more information on St. John's fencing, log onto redstormsports.com or follow our official twitter account: @STJ_Fencing, using the hashtag: #stjfencing.
Players Mentioned
