St. John's University Athletics
No. 1: Natanzon Wins Junior World Cup in Bulgaria
11/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
QUEENS, N.Y. - Freshman Ben Natanzon continued his impressive season as he stood atop the podium to win his first Junior World Cup title in Plovdiv, Bulgaria last weekend.
Natanzon went 5-1 in the pool play and won his first elimination bout, 15-12, over Romania's George Dragomir before defeating Simon Rapp of Germany, 15-5, to qualify for the table of 32.
The Manalapan, N.J. native was one of four U.S. fencers to advance to the table of 16 after recording a 15-11 win over Balazs Meszaros of Hungary.
The freshman fenced his teammate, Grant Williams and won the bout, 15-11, to qualify for the quarterfinals for the fifth-consecutive time on the international circuit.
In the quarters, Natanzon won his bout against Russian Anatoliy Kostenko, 15-12, to secure a medal. He then faced a pair of Italians in the medal rounds and was sensational in both bouts, defeating Leonardo Dreossi, 15-6, in the semis and Junior World No. 2 Dario Cavaliere, 15-9, for gold.
Not only is Natanzon the No. 1 junior men's saber fencer in the United States, but he also is No. 1 in the world.
Players Mentioned
