Fencers Host OSU Open And Dual Meets – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/31/2001 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
Oct. 31, 2001
Columbus, Ohio–The Buckeyes will host the OSU Open at the French Field House, next to St.John Arena, Saturday at 9 a.m. The event is an individual competition and a non team-scoring event and is open to anyone wishing to compete.
The OSU Dual Meets
The OSU Dual Meets will take place Sunday with round one starting at 8 a.m. The schools participating include: Ohio State, Cleveland State, Michigan, Purdue, Northwestern, Michigan State, Case Western and Detroit-Mercy.
Meet the Coaches
Entering his third season at Ohio State, head coach Vladimir Nazlymov is looking for big things from his team this year. He is 57-51 at Ohio State and has produced three All-Americans during that time.
Before his arrival at Ohio State, Nazlymov spent eight years as the head coach for the Kansas City, Mo. school district where he developed an Olympic-caliber fencing program. Nazlymov is a three-time Olympic medalist and was named National Coach of the Year in 1999.
Ilgar Mamedov joined the Buckeye staff last season with a remarkable list of accomplishments. He was a member of the Russian National Team for almost two decades. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist (Seoul, 1988, Atlanta, 1996) and competed in four Olympic games. He claimed the world championship in 1989 before winning the silver medal at the 1995 World Championships.
Pavel Kolovbkov joins the Buckeye coaching staff this year with an impressive resume. He was a member of the Russian National Team for 14 years. He competed in four Olympic Games and has five medals, including the gold at the 2000 Sydney games. He also was a two-time European champion (1994, ’96) and a two-time world champion in 1993 and ’94.
Freshmen No More
In women’s epee, Alexandra Shklar (So., Jerusalem, Israel/Hatihon Hamasorati) returns after a solid freshman season. She was 34-5 last year and placed second at the NCAA regionals before earning a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Her impressive freshman season earned her second team All-America honors. Last week she placed second at the Remenyik Open in epee out of more than 80 competitors.
In men’s sabre, Colin Parker (So., Fayetteville, Ga./Heritage School) shined in his freshman season going 30-5 and placing sixth at the NCAA Championships. Last week Parker placed first in sabre at the Remenyik Open.
Two additional NCAA qualifiers return for the Buckeyes. Alan Jones (Jr., Ft. Leonardwood, Mo./Waynesville) and Guy Loftin ( Jr., Overland Park, Kan./Banstow). Jones recorded a 31-18 record in men’s epee last season with fourth-place finishes at the conference championships and NCAA regionals. Loftin went 24-15 in sabre with sixth and eighth-place finishes at the conference championships and NCAA Regionals, respectively.
New York, New York
Sisters Hanna Thompson (Fr., Rochester, N.Y./East) and Metta Thompson (Fr., Rochester, N.Y./East) are two talented freshman expected to do big things this year for the Buckeyes. Last week Metta and Hanna got their college careers off to a great start by placing first and third respectively in women’s foil at the Remenyik Open at Northwestern University.
Hanna Thompson was a four-year U-20 National Champion and finished third at the 2000 U.S. National Championships.
Metta Thompson is just as decorative as her sister. She placed first in foil at the Division-I Junior Summer Nationals in 2000 and 2001 and was an alternate on the 2000 Cadet World Team.
Global Competitors
Last weekend Jason Rogers (Fr., Los Angeles, Calif./Brentwood) and Louise Bond-Williams (Fr., Gloucestershire, England/Chipping Campden) competed at the 2001 World Fencing Championships in Nimes, France. Rogers finished 55th out of 85 competitors and Bond-Williams finished 31st out of 80 competitors.
Up Next
The Buckeyes return to action on Dec. 1 when they host the second OSU Open of the season.
