St. John's University Athletics
Thursday, March 19
Detroit, Mich.
St. John's University
vs
NCAA Championships
10 Red Storm Fencers Qualify for NCAA Championships
3/11/2020 10:45:00 AM | Fencing
The tournament will be hosted in Detroit, Mich., from March 19-22, 2020
QUEENS, N.Y. (March 11, 2020) – After four different Johnnies brought home medals, including one first-place finish at the Northeast Regional this past Sunday, the St. John's men's and women's fencing programs earned 10 bids to the 2020 NCAA Fencing Championships in Detroit, Mich., from March 19-22, 2020. The tournament will be hosted by Detroit Mercy and the Detroit Sports Commission at the TCF Center.
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The field of 144 fencers from 26 different schools will compete in a round-robin format of five-touch bouts for each individual weapon. After the round-robin, the top-four finishers in each weapon will fence in semifinal 15-touch bouts, with the winners fencing to determine first and second places, and the non-advancing fencers being awarded a tie for third place.
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An institution's place finish in the championships will be based on points earned by each individual. A team will be awarded one point for each victory by its student-athletes for the duration of the championships.
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Only four programs (Columbia, Harvard, Notre Dame, and Ohio State) qualified more fencers than St. John's, led by five-time U.S. Olympic Coach Yury Gelman, where the maximum amount of fencers that a school can receive is 12.
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In men's foil, Jan Jurkiewicz and Maxime Tarasiewicz earned a bid for the first time in their collegiate careers. The duo finished in fifth and sixth place, respectively, at last week's NCAA Northeast Regionals. The freshman and sophomore tandem also won a combined 67 bouts during the regular season.
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Ivan Zagoruiko, last year's gold medalist at the NCAA Northeast Regionals, will get another chance of claiming the gold after clinching his second-straight appearance at the NCAA Fencing Championships. Joining Zagoruiko at nationals in epee is Nathan Vaysberg, who is also making his second consecutive trip to nationals next week.
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Sal Centanni will be the lone Red Storm representative in men's saber. The junior posted a 29-16 record in his four invitational appearances this season and placed in seventh at last week's NCAA Northeast Regional.
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On the women's side, fifth-year fencer Katarzyna Lachman shined on the piste to bring home her first NCAA Regional gold medal in the women's foil tournament. Last year's runner-up at nationals will be joined by sophomore Arianna Pappone who captured the bronze medal last week.
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After taking home St. John's first-ever gold medal in women's saber last year, Karolina Cieslar will head into her final NCAA Championships as one of the top saber fencers in the country. The senior dominated her opponents during the regular season with 38 victories during the regular season and went 20-3 at the NCAA Northeast Regional.
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In women's epee, Andrea Rizzi earned a bid to nationals with her second second-place finish in a row at regionals last Sunday. Last year at nationals, the junior won 17 of her 23 matches to earn the No. 2 seed and First Team All-American honors. Rizzi met Columbia's Anne Cebula in the semifinals and lost a close contest to the eventual national champion, 15-12. Freshman Nicole Gavrilko also earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Fencing Championships after claiming the bronze at the NCAA Northeast Regionals.
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Since men's and women's teams began competing together in 1990, St. John's has won one NCAA Championship (2001) and has made five runner-up finishes (1995, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2010). The Red Storm has had 25 individual NCAA Champions, including Cieslar's title last season. Coach Gelman's squad has finished in sixth-place or better for 27-straight seasons.
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For more information about championships log on to ncaa.com. A live feed of semifinal and final bouts will be available on ESPN3 or WatchESPN app. Semifinals and finals, along with other championships highlights will air on ESPNU at 5 p.m., on Wednesday, April 8.
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The field of 144 fencers from 26 different schools will compete in a round-robin format of five-touch bouts for each individual weapon. After the round-robin, the top-four finishers in each weapon will fence in semifinal 15-touch bouts, with the winners fencing to determine first and second places, and the non-advancing fencers being awarded a tie for third place.
Â
An institution's place finish in the championships will be based on points earned by each individual. A team will be awarded one point for each victory by its student-athletes for the duration of the championships.
Â
Only four programs (Columbia, Harvard, Notre Dame, and Ohio State) qualified more fencers than St. John's, led by five-time U.S. Olympic Coach Yury Gelman, where the maximum amount of fencers that a school can receive is 12.
Â
In men's foil, Jan Jurkiewicz and Maxime Tarasiewicz earned a bid for the first time in their collegiate careers. The duo finished in fifth and sixth place, respectively, at last week's NCAA Northeast Regionals. The freshman and sophomore tandem also won a combined 67 bouts during the regular season.
Â
Ivan Zagoruiko, last year's gold medalist at the NCAA Northeast Regionals, will get another chance of claiming the gold after clinching his second-straight appearance at the NCAA Fencing Championships. Joining Zagoruiko at nationals in epee is Nathan Vaysberg, who is also making his second consecutive trip to nationals next week.
Â
Sal Centanni will be the lone Red Storm representative in men's saber. The junior posted a 29-16 record in his four invitational appearances this season and placed in seventh at last week's NCAA Northeast Regional.
Â
On the women's side, fifth-year fencer Katarzyna Lachman shined on the piste to bring home her first NCAA Regional gold medal in the women's foil tournament. Last year's runner-up at nationals will be joined by sophomore Arianna Pappone who captured the bronze medal last week.
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After taking home St. John's first-ever gold medal in women's saber last year, Karolina Cieslar will head into her final NCAA Championships as one of the top saber fencers in the country. The senior dominated her opponents during the regular season with 38 victories during the regular season and went 20-3 at the NCAA Northeast Regional.
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In women's epee, Andrea Rizzi earned a bid to nationals with her second second-place finish in a row at regionals last Sunday. Last year at nationals, the junior won 17 of her 23 matches to earn the No. 2 seed and First Team All-American honors. Rizzi met Columbia's Anne Cebula in the semifinals and lost a close contest to the eventual national champion, 15-12. Freshman Nicole Gavrilko also earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Fencing Championships after claiming the bronze at the NCAA Northeast Regionals.
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Since men's and women's teams began competing together in 1990, St. John's has won one NCAA Championship (2001) and has made five runner-up finishes (1995, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2010). The Red Storm has had 25 individual NCAA Champions, including Cieslar's title last season. Coach Gelman's squad has finished in sixth-place or better for 27-straight seasons.
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For more information about championships log on to ncaa.com. A live feed of semifinal and final bouts will be available on ESPN3 or WatchESPN app. Semifinals and finals, along with other championships highlights will air on ESPNU at 5 p.m., on Wednesday, April 8.
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Players Mentioned
Saber
/ Fencing
Saber
/ Fencing
Epee
/ Fencing
Foil
/ Fencing
Foil
/ Fencing
Foil
/ Fencing
Epee
/ Fencing
Foil
/ Fencing
Epee
/ Fencing
Epee
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