St. John's University Athletics
Sunday, November 23
Brooklyn, N.Y.
St. John's University
at
Shark Tank Challenge
Fencing Set for Season Opener at LIU’s Shark Tank Challenge
11/22/2025 11:10:00 AM | Fencing
The Red Storm kicks off the 2025-26 campaign in Brooklyn
QUEENS, N.Y. — The St. John's men's and women's fencing teams begin their 2025-26 season on Sunday in Brooklyn, N.Y., with host LIU's Shark Tank Challenge at the Steinberg Wellness Center. The Johnnies will compete alongside Wagner, NYU and Yale. Results can be found at RedStormSports.com.
After receiving a first-round bye, St. John's opens the meet with a matchup against Wagner at 10 a.m. in round two before taking on Yale in round three at 11 a.m. Following a one-hour intermission at noon, the Johnnies face NYU in round four at 1 p.m. and close out the competition against LIU in round five at 2 p.m.
The meet marks the Red Storm's first trip to LIU since January 2024, when both the women and men finished with 2-2 records. Team captains senior foil Malwina Kolodziejczyk and sophomore epee Daniil Mazur paced the group with eight and five individual wins, respectively.
Head Coach Yury Gelman enters his 31st season at the helm of the St. John's fencing program. He has coached 140 All-Americans, 27 individual NCAA Champions and guided the Red Storm to the 2001 national title. The St. John's Hall of Famer returns 23 student-athletes from the 2024-25 roster while adding freshman saber Chloe Butman, freshman saber Mokshada Choudary, freshman foil Kaijinsei Dela Serna and freshman foil Sebastian Garcia.
In 2024-25, Gelman led St. John's to its 32nd consecutive season with a top-seven national ranking and coached sophomore saber Darii Lukashenko to an individual national championship.
Following the Shark Tank Challenge, the Red Storm will travel to Waltham, Mass. on Dec. 7 for Brandeis University's Carla-Mae Richards Invitational.
After receiving a first-round bye, St. John's opens the meet with a matchup against Wagner at 10 a.m. in round two before taking on Yale in round three at 11 a.m. Following a one-hour intermission at noon, the Johnnies face NYU in round four at 1 p.m. and close out the competition against LIU in round five at 2 p.m.
The meet marks the Red Storm's first trip to LIU since January 2024, when both the women and men finished with 2-2 records. Team captains senior foil Malwina Kolodziejczyk and sophomore epee Daniil Mazur paced the group with eight and five individual wins, respectively.
Head Coach Yury Gelman enters his 31st season at the helm of the St. John's fencing program. He has coached 140 All-Americans, 27 individual NCAA Champions and guided the Red Storm to the 2001 national title. The St. John's Hall of Famer returns 23 student-athletes from the 2024-25 roster while adding freshman saber Chloe Butman, freshman saber Mokshada Choudary, freshman foil Kaijinsei Dela Serna and freshman foil Sebastian Garcia.
In 2024-25, Gelman led St. John's to its 32nd consecutive season with a top-seven national ranking and coached sophomore saber Darii Lukashenko to an individual national championship.
Following the Shark Tank Challenge, the Red Storm will travel to Waltham, Mass. on Dec. 7 for Brandeis University's Carla-Mae Richards Invitational.
Players Mentioned
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