St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Day Four
November NAC Recap: Alums Homer, Wozniak Win Gold
11/12/2013 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
Nov. 12, 2013
QUEENS, N.Y. - 10 Red Storm fencers competed in the November North American Cup in Cleveland, Ohio this past weekend. St. John's alums and 2012 Olympians Daryl Homer and Dagmara Wozniak won gold in Div. I men's saber and Div. I women's saber, respectively. Former St. John's fencer Adam Watson also placed 14th in Div. I men's epee.
The November NAC, which took place from Nov. 8-11, was the first of four NACs in which the Red Storm will send representatives. St. John's begins NCAA competition on Dec. 8 with the Brandeis Invitational in Waltham, Mass.
Ranked No. 1 in the U.S. and No. 12 in the World, Homer earned the No. 1 seed in the event. Homer defeated six opponents to reach the finals where he defeated Eli Dershwitz, 15-12, to claim his fourth NAC gold medal at the Div. I level.
Wozniak, meanwhile, earned the No. 4 seed as she came into the event ranked No. 2 in the U.S. and No. 6 in the World. Wozniak dispatched five opponents to reach the final round, where she outscored Sophie Keehan, 15-7, to win her first-career gold medal in Div. I NAC competition.
Fellow Red Storm alum Watson placed 14th in Div. I men's epee. His former squadmates senior Andrew Dobbie and sophomore Trevor Shepard placed 259th and 267th in Div. I competition, respectively. Shepard also tied for 136th place in junior competition.
Two newcomers to the St. John's men's epee squad made top-64 finishes. Yevgeniy Karyuchenko placed 34th in Div. I competition while teammate Cooper Schumacher placed 17th in the junior competition. Schumacher's 17th place finish was highest among current St. John's fencers. Karyuchenko also placed 71st in the junior competition, while Schumacher finished 204th in Div. I to complete their weekend.
In men's saber, Red Storm teammates Deniz Berkay and Ferenc Valkai placed 103rd and 104th, respectively, in Div. I competition. Berkey also finished in a tie for 127th in the junior competition.
Men's foil had two returning seniors finish in the top-64 this past weekend. Max Blitzer finished in 28th place while fellow teammate Eli Schenkel placed 33rd, both in Div. I competition. Blitzer, seeded 91st, upset the No. 37 and No. 28 seeds in consecutive rounds en route to his 28th place finish. Fellow Red Storm senior Wilfred Curioso also competed in the Div. I competition, placing 122nd.
In women's epee, Isis Washington placed 72nd in Div. I competition. Washington was the only current Red Storm female fencer to compete in the November NAC this year.
A summary of the results can be found below:
Men's Epee
Adam Watson (alum) - 14th (Div. I)
Yevgeniy Karyuchenko - 34th (Div. I), 71st (Jr.)
Cooper Schumacher - 204th (Div. I), 17th (Jr.)
Andrew Dobbie - 259th (Div. I)
Trevor Shepard - 267th (Div. I), t-136th (Jr.)
Men's Saber
Daryl Homer (alum) - 1st (Div. I)
Deniz Berkay - 103rd (Div. I), t-127th (Jr.)
Ferenc Valkai - 104th (Div. I)
Men's Foil
Max Blitzer - 28th (Div. I)
Eli Schenkel - 33rd (Div. I)
Wilfred Curioso - 122nd (Div. I)
Women's Epee
Isis Washington - 72nd (Div. I)
Women's Saber
Dagmara Wozniak (alum) - 1st
Players Mentioned
