Four Qualify for National Fencing Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/7/1999 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
March 7, 1999
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State fencing team qualified four athletes to the NCAA Championships at Saturday’s NCAA Regionals, held at Cleveland State University.%^$ %^$
Yelena Kalkina (Jr., Almaty, Kazakhstan) paced the Buckeyes, finishing first overall in the women’s foil. Teammate Fane Groes (So., Copenhagen, Denmark) took second in the foil and also qualified.%^$
In the women’s epee, Toya Holland (Fr., Columbus, Ohio) notched a fourth-place finish and was the fifth qualifier in the competition. Spela Pirc (Sr., Ljubljana, Slovenija) took sixth place and is the second alternate for the NCAA Championships.%^$
Jeff Carlino (Sr., Cleveland Heights, Ohio) led the men’s squad with a third-place finish in the epee. Joe Wernet (Sr., Bexley, Ohio) is the second alternate in the men’s sabre competition.%^$
According to OSU assistant fencing coach Michael Shearer, Pirc and Wernet both have an opportunity to advance to the national championships, but they are not guaranteed a spot.%^$
The Buckeyes will continue their quests for national championships March 18-23 at the NCAA Championships at Brandeis.
