March 17, 2008

Final Stats

QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's fencing program had a remarkable outing at the 2008 NCAA Championships, finishing fifth nationally to cap a standout season. The perennial power Red Storm finished with 145 total points in the NCAA Championships, which was captured by host Ohio State with a total of 185 points.

"Every senior did excellent this year," said head coach Yury Gelman. "Basically, the seniors lead the team, but we will have to rebuild next year in hopes of a top finish in the national championship."

The Red Storm added a total of nine fencers with All-America honors to its long list of accolades. Since 1995, the men and women have garnered a combined 25 All-Americans. The top twelve individuals in the national championship earn automatic All-America honors, with the top four receiving first-team All-America.

Senior and first team All-America captain Monika Golebiewski finished her career first in the nation, winning the gold medal in the foil. Golebiewski defeated Adi Nott of Notre Dame, 15-6, to advance to the gold medal bout where she faced Oksana Dmytruk of Ohio State. In the championship bout the senior defeated Dmytruk, 15-7, to take home gold. She finished with a total of 19 points in the tournament overall. The Bonn, Germany, native earned All-America honors for the second consecutive year, after taking home the silver at the 2007 NCAA Championship.

St. John's senior and first team All-American Reka Szele ended her career on a high note by taking silver in the NCAA Championship in the epee. Szele defeated Ewa Nelip, also from Notre Dame, 15-4, en route to the gold medal round. Kelley Hurley of Notre Dame clinched the medal after a close bout between the two, 11-10. Szele has also received All-America honors for the second consecutive season, taking the bronze medal at the 2007 NCAA Championship.

The Red Storm women's fencing team finished fourth in the nation with a total of 75 points in the tournament. Five total women received All-America honors including sophomore Tanya Novakovska of Nikolaev, Ukraine, with a total of 15 victories in the epee as she finished eighth overall in the event. In the saber, Martyna Wiecczorek finished 11th overall with 11 total points. Rounding out the women's performances at the 2008 NCAA Championships was senior Katia Larchanka of Minsk, Belarus, who took 12th and the third-team All-America honor. Larchanka finished 11th at the 2007 NCAA Championship, earning her second consecutive All-America honor.

The Red Storm men's fencing team placed fifth with 70 points, finishing in the top five for the 13th year in a row. Since 1997, the men's fencing team has earned 13 individual All-America honors. The men added four total All-America honors to finish with a strong season. Senior Luther Clement and junior Stan Vaksman were the top finishers, receiving first team All-America distinction.

Clement and Vaksman both advanced to the direct elimination round of the national championship in the bronze medal bouts of their respective weapons. Clement entered as the No. 2 seed in the saber semifinal against No. 3 seed Jeff Spear of Columbia. Despite a valiant effort, Spear edged Clement in a three-point match, 15-12. In the bronze medal bout, Clement competed against Penn State's Daniel Bak, but just missed winning the bronze by a 15-11 decision. Clement finished with 18 victories in the tournament overall. With his fourth place finish, the Lawrence, Kansas, native earned his second consecutive All-America honor.

In the epee, the Red Storm was led by Vaksman, who entered the semifinal also as the No. 2 seed. He was pitted against No. 3 Slava Zingerman of Wayne State, who advanced to the gold medal bout with a 15-8 win. Vaksman then moved on to the bronze medal bout where he faced Graham Wicas of Princeton, but just missed with a 15-8 decision in Wicas' favor. Throughout the tournament, Vaksman had 16 victories overall. This was also his second consecutive All-America honor after finishing seventh in the 2007 NCAA Championship.

Senior and second-team All-America, Henry Kennard clinched fifth place in the foil with a total of 17 victories, and placed one spot higher than last year's sixth place finish in the NCAA Championship. He finished his career with two consecutive All-America honors.

Junior and third-team All-American, Mykhaylo Mokretsov of Khmelnitsky, Ukraine, wrapped up his the season as 12th in the country with 13 wins overall in the epee.

On the year, the men's team finished with a 8-4 overall record, placing first in the Brandeis Invitational. On the women's side, the Red Storm posted a 10-3 record, also capturing first in at Brandeis.

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