St. John's University Athletics

Jan Jurkiewicz Captures Men’s Foil National Title
3/24/2023 9:27:00 PM | Fencing
Fares Ferjani finishes second in men’s saber
DURHAM, N.C.- The St. John's men's fencing team wrapped up its portion of the NCAA Championships at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Friday.
Jan Jurkiewicz won the first individual national title by a Red Storm fencer since Karolina Cieslar in 2019. Jurkiewicz was dominant in pool play, racking up 20 wins to secure the second seed in the elimination rounds. The Poland native tallied 112 touches and was only touched 61 times in the round-robin stage of the competition. In the elimination round, Jurkiewicz defeated Notre Dame's Marcello Olivares, 15-11, before outlasting Princeton's Mohamed Hamza, 15-13, to capture the men's foil crown on Friday.
In men's saber, Fares Ferjani finished second for the second consecutive season, tallying 17 wins in pool play. Ferjani dominated Ohio State's Jack Price, 15-6, in the semifinal round before falling to Notre Dame's Luke Linder in a heartbreaker, 15-14. Ahmed Ferjani put together another solid performance, logging 11 victories to finish 11th and earning an All-America honor for the second-straight season.
Paul Fortin had a strong NCAA Championships debut in men's epee, racking up 10 victories and nearly advancing to the elimination round in his first appearance in the national championship. Fortin finished fifth and received his first All-America distinction in the Red & White.
After two days of competition, St. John's ranks fifth with all three women's competitions remaining. Saturday will feature rounds one through three with the championship rounds coming on Sunday in Durham.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS AND RECORDS
MEN'S SABER
Fares Ferjani- 2nd place- First Team All-American- 18-5
Ahmed Ferjani- 11th place- Third Team All-American-11-10
MEN'S FOIL
Jan Jurkiewicz- National Champion- First Team All-American- 22-3
MEN'S EPEE
Paul Fortin- 5th place- Second Team All-American-15-8
Jan Jurkiewicz won the first individual national title by a Red Storm fencer since Karolina Cieslar in 2019. Jurkiewicz was dominant in pool play, racking up 20 wins to secure the second seed in the elimination rounds. The Poland native tallied 112 touches and was only touched 61 times in the round-robin stage of the competition. In the elimination round, Jurkiewicz defeated Notre Dame's Marcello Olivares, 15-11, before outlasting Princeton's Mohamed Hamza, 15-13, to capture the men's foil crown on Friday.
In men's saber, Fares Ferjani finished second for the second consecutive season, tallying 17 wins in pool play. Ferjani dominated Ohio State's Jack Price, 15-6, in the semifinal round before falling to Notre Dame's Luke Linder in a heartbreaker, 15-14. Ahmed Ferjani put together another solid performance, logging 11 victories to finish 11th and earning an All-America honor for the second-straight season.
Paul Fortin had a strong NCAA Championships debut in men's epee, racking up 10 victories and nearly advancing to the elimination round in his first appearance in the national championship. Fortin finished fifth and received his first All-America distinction in the Red & White.
After two days of competition, St. John's ranks fifth with all three women's competitions remaining. Saturday will feature rounds one through three with the championship rounds coming on Sunday in Durham.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS AND RECORDS
MEN'S SABER
Fares Ferjani- 2nd place- First Team All-American- 18-5
Ahmed Ferjani- 11th place- Third Team All-American-11-10
MEN'S FOIL
Jan Jurkiewicz- National Champion- First Team All-American- 22-3
MEN'S EPEE
Paul Fortin- 5th place- Second Team All-American-15-8
Players Mentioned
2020 St. John's Invitational Reel
Saturday, January 18
St. John's University Fencing Invitational Highlights
Saturday, January 19