St. John’s Fencing Wraps Up Competition at October North American Cup

Friday, October 7

Minneapolis, Minn.

St. John's University

October North American Cup

St. John’s Fencing Wraps Up Competition at October North American Cup

10/10/2022 7:56:00 PM | Fencing

12 fencers participated in the event held in Minneapolis, Minn.

By: Alex Whisnant

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.- 12 members of the St. John's fencing program traveled to Minneapolis, Minn., to take part in the October North American Cup that started on Friday and concluded on Monday evening.

The October edition of the North American Cup featured top amateur and professional fencers from around the world.

The men's foil was the first weapon group to hit the strips on Friday morning. Junior standout Jan Jurkiewicz put together a solid performance, reaching the round of 16 before falling to Alexander Massialas. Jurkiewicz finished 12^th overall. Cesar Colon did not compete.

In women's epee, St. John's alumnus Isis Washington captured the top prize, beating out Charlene Liu, 15-13. As for current Red Storm fencers, Nicole Gavrilko reached the main draw and advanced to the round of 64 to finish in 45^th place. Sophomore Kincso Kollar finished 157^th.

Day 2 was a solid day for the Johnnies as Julia Cieslar reached the semifinals in women's saber to secure a tie for third place. Fanni Potz-Nagy finished 90^th on Saturday afternoon.

Two freshmen made their debuts on Sunday in women's foil. Antonina Lachman put on a solid showing in Minneapolis, reaching the round of 32 and finishing 22^nd overall. Fellow newcomer Malwina Kolodziejczyk also found her way to the elimination round, advancing to the round of 64 and securing 57^th place.

Sixth-year standout Fares Ferjani put on a show in men's saber on Sunday afternoon, blowing past the competition to advance to the final round. Unfortunately, Ferjani was unable to compete and had to withdraw, securing a silver medal. Fares' younger brother, Ahmed Ferjani, was solid as well, reaching the round of 32 before falling to sixth-seeded Ziad Elsissy.

The Division I portion of the competition concluded with men's epee on Monday afternoon. Freshman Paul Fortin finished 105^thwhile Mauricio Pellegrino finished 146^th.

The Red Storm will compete in its first team event of the season when it travels to Waltham, Mass., to take part in the Brandeis Invitational on Sunday, Dec. 4.