St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
NCAA Regional Championships
Cieslar and White Strike Gold at NCAA Northeast Regional
3/11/2018 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
2018 NCAA Northeast Regional Results
WALTHAM, Mass. - The St. John's Fencing team won two gold medals and captured six top-three finishes at the NCAA Northeast Region on Sunday afternoon at Brandeis University. Karolina Cieslar shined on the piste to bring home her second-straight gold medal, while senior Sean White also took home gold in the men's epee competition.
Curtis McDowald finished second for the second time in as many years, while Veronika Zuikova and Andras Nemeth also claimed silver medals on Sunday. The newcomer, Ferjani Fares impressed on the strip in men's saber with a third-place finish to round out the six Johnnies to earn medals at the NCAA Regional.
Coming in as the top seed and the defending champion, Cieslar went 5-1 in pool play to advance to the final 12. From there, the sophomore was unstoppable posting a perfect 11-0 record and outscored her opponents by 39 touches. Cieslar finished with an astonishing 16-1 mark to win gold for the second-straight year. Karolina Kaleta also enjoyed a splendid day on the piste with a sixth-place finish in women's saber.
Following four victories in the second round of pool play, White joined three other Johnnies in the last round of play and started 7-0. Using his great start to the round, White closed out the day going 2-2 and was able to win his first gold medal at the NCAA Regional. The Red Storm dominated men's epee as McDowald claimed silver, Ivan Zagoruiko finished fourth and Omari Smoak came in 11th.
In women's epee, Veronika Zuikova picked up her fourth medal in as many years with a second-place finish after tallying 17 victories. With Zuikova, Dominique Tannous and Ally Ryf both enjoyed solid days as the duo both finished in the top nine.
Andras Nemeth started his postseason strong as the 2017 NCAA national foil champion came in second after going 18-5 on the strip. Freshman Vincent Mindelof earned a top 10 finish in his first-career collegiate regional.
Newcomer Ferjani Fares took home the bronze to advance to the NCAA Championships and will be accompanied with Ben Natanzon, who finished sixth, in men's saber.
Nine different Johnnies clinched spots into the NCAA Championships, while the others will be put into an at-large selection and will be chosen on Tuesday.
The NCAA Regional competitions are not a team event, as participants competed individually to qualify for the NCAA Fencing Championships. The maximum number of student-athletes a school can qualify for the NCAA Fencing Championships is 12 (two for each weapon). On Tuesday, March 13, the NCAA will finalize a list of qualifiers for NCAA Fencing Championship competition. Qualification is based on results from both the regular season and the regional performances. The NCAA Fencing Championships will be held in University Park, Pa., from March 22-25.
Results from the 2018 NCAA Northeast Regional are listed below:
Men's Saber
Ferjani Fares - 3rd place
Ben Natanzon - 6th place
Dalton Walker - 12th place
Men's Epee
Sean White - 1st place
Curtis McDowald - 2nd place
Ivan Zagoruiko - 4th place
Omari Smoak - 11th place
Men's Foil
Andras Nemeth - 2nd place
Vincent Mindelof - 9th place
Malcolm Jackson - T-33rd place
Women's Saber
Karolina Cieslar - 1st place
Karolina Kaleta - 6th place
Justine Pascual - 24th place
Women's Epee
Veronika Zuikova - 2nd place
Dominique Tannous - 8th place
Ally Ryf - 9th place
Melissa Gillick - 34th place
Women's Foil
Kayla Soulias - 25th place
Players Mentioned
