St. John's University Athletics
St. John’s Fencing Reveals 2025-26 Schedule
11/12/2025 10:30:00 AM | Fencing
Red Storm are set for seven competitions before NCAA Regionals
QUEENS, N.Y. — Head Coach Yury Gelman has announced the 2025-26 fencing schedule, featuring a competitive slate of national and regional meets as the Red Storm prepares for another strong campaign on the strip.
Gelman enters his 31st season at the helm of the Red Storm fencing program, having coached 140 All-Americans and 27 individual NCAA Champions and guiding St. John's to the 2001 national title. In 2024-25, Gelman led the Johnnies to their 32nd consecutive season with a top seven national ranking while coaching Darii Lukashenko to a men's saber individual national championship. Gelman returns 23 student-athletes from the 2024-25 roster while welcoming freshman saber Chloe Butman, freshman saber Mokshada Choudary, freshman foil Kaijinsei Dela Serna and freshman foil Sebastian Garcia to Queens.
The Red Storm open their season at the North American Cup from Nov. 14-17 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Following the season opener, St. John's competes locally at the Shark Tank Challenge on Nov. 23, facing LIU, NYU, Yale and Wagner in Brookville, N.Y.
The squad closes out the fall semester at the Brandeis Invitational on Dec. 7 in Waltham, Mass. The Johnnies enjoyed success here last season, as the men went 4-2 and the women secured two victories, led by Antonina Lachman. The Red Storm returns home to host the annual St. John's Invitational on Jan. 17 at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y. The event will feature Princeton, Harvard, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Columbia. Last season, both the men and women earned victories at the home meet, defeating Notre Dame and Ohio State.
The Red Storm travel to Staten Island, N.Y., for the Brian Palestis Memorial, including matchups against Wagner and Penn State on Feb. 1 before heading to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a second North American Cup event from Feb. 12-15. St. John's concludes the month at the Temple Invitational on Feb. 22 in Philadelphia. At last season's meet in the City of Brotherly Love, the men finished a perfect 5-0, while the women posted a 3-2 mark.
Postseason competition begins with the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships on March 8 at Vassar College in Dutchess County, N.Y. Last season, 21 St. John's student-athletes competed for NCAA Championships spots, highlighted by two first-place finishes on the men's side. Saber Vlad Covaliu and epee Daniil Mazur each claimed titles, while sabers Julia Cieslar and Catinca Dumitru were the women's top finishers, placing fifth and sixth, respectively.
The 2025-26 campaign concludes at the NCAA Championships hosted by Notre Dame from March 19-22. The Red Storm placed fifth overall at last year's national meet, highlighted by Lukashenko's men's saber individual national title. Fellow sophomores saber Vlad Covaliu and epee Samuel Imrek found the podium as well, each tying for third.
On the women's front, Cieslar capped her senior season with a 13th-place finish in saber, tallying 10 wins, while Dumitru added seven victories to place 19th. In women's foil, Lachman made her NCAA Championships debut, finishing 23rd with four wins.
With a veteran core and talented group of newcomers, St. John's aims to continue its streak of national success as the 2025-26 campaign gets underway.
Gelman enters his 31st season at the helm of the Red Storm fencing program, having coached 140 All-Americans and 27 individual NCAA Champions and guiding St. John's to the 2001 national title. In 2024-25, Gelman led the Johnnies to their 32nd consecutive season with a top seven national ranking while coaching Darii Lukashenko to a men's saber individual national championship. Gelman returns 23 student-athletes from the 2024-25 roster while welcoming freshman saber Chloe Butman, freshman saber Mokshada Choudary, freshman foil Kaijinsei Dela Serna and freshman foil Sebastian Garcia to Queens.
The Red Storm open their season at the North American Cup from Nov. 14-17 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Following the season opener, St. John's competes locally at the Shark Tank Challenge on Nov. 23, facing LIU, NYU, Yale and Wagner in Brookville, N.Y.
The squad closes out the fall semester at the Brandeis Invitational on Dec. 7 in Waltham, Mass. The Johnnies enjoyed success here last season, as the men went 4-2 and the women secured two victories, led by Antonina Lachman. The Red Storm returns home to host the annual St. John's Invitational on Jan. 17 at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y. The event will feature Princeton, Harvard, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Columbia. Last season, both the men and women earned victories at the home meet, defeating Notre Dame and Ohio State.
The Red Storm travel to Staten Island, N.Y., for the Brian Palestis Memorial, including matchups against Wagner and Penn State on Feb. 1 before heading to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a second North American Cup event from Feb. 12-15. St. John's concludes the month at the Temple Invitational on Feb. 22 in Philadelphia. At last season's meet in the City of Brotherly Love, the men finished a perfect 5-0, while the women posted a 3-2 mark.
Postseason competition begins with the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships on March 8 at Vassar College in Dutchess County, N.Y. Last season, 21 St. John's student-athletes competed for NCAA Championships spots, highlighted by two first-place finishes on the men's side. Saber Vlad Covaliu and epee Daniil Mazur each claimed titles, while sabers Julia Cieslar and Catinca Dumitru were the women's top finishers, placing fifth and sixth, respectively.
The 2025-26 campaign concludes at the NCAA Championships hosted by Notre Dame from March 19-22. The Red Storm placed fifth overall at last year's national meet, highlighted by Lukashenko's men's saber individual national title. Fellow sophomores saber Vlad Covaliu and epee Samuel Imrek found the podium as well, each tying for third.
On the women's front, Cieslar capped her senior season with a 13th-place finish in saber, tallying 10 wins, while Dumitru added seven victories to place 19th. In women's foil, Lachman made her NCAA Championships debut, finishing 23rd with four wins.
With a veteran core and talented group of newcomers, St. John's aims to continue its streak of national success as the 2025-26 campaign gets underway.
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