Fencers Set To Compete At NAC Junior Open – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
Jan. 16, 2002
Columbus, Ohio–The Ohio State fencing teams travels to the NAC Junior Open this weekend at the Century Center in South Bend, Ind. The Buckeyes will look to keep the momentum going from last weekend. The women are coming off an impressive weekend at the Northwestern Dual Meets where they went undefeated, winning all five sessions.
The Competitors
Seventeen members of the Buckeye fencing team will compete at the competition. Those members include William Jones (Jr., epee), Brian Gross (Fr., epee), Ricardo Jimenez (Fr., epee), Colin Parker (So., sabre), Hanna Thompson (Fr., foil), Metta Thompson (Fr., foil), Alexandra Shklar (So., epee), Toya Richmond (Jr., epee), Leah Tracy (Sr., sabre), Louise Bond-Williams (Fr., sabre), Nathan Weir (Jr., foil), Craig Galanter (So., foil), Kitz Siebert (So., sabre), Jason Rogers (Fr., sabre), David Carrino (Jr., foil), Neal Siebert and Alex Smirdin.
Last Time Out
The women’s team was victorious in all five sessions of the Northwestern Dual Meets on Saturday. Five schools fell victim to OSU: Lawrence (23-4), Temple (16-11), Fairleigh Dickinson (19-8), North Carolina (19-8) and Johns Hopkins (18-9).
In the first session the Buckeyes defeated Lawrence, 23-4. The Buckeyes swept all three events, winning the sabre, 8-1, foil, 6-3 and epee, 9-0. The Buckeyes next defeated Temple in the second session, 16-11. The Buckeyes fell in sabre, 4-5, but recorded 6-3 victories in foil and epee. The third session saw the Buckeyes defeat Fairleigh Dickinson, 19-8. OSU won all three events, winning the sabre, 5-4, foil, 6-3 and epee, 8-1. The Buckeyes continued their dominance in the fourth and fifth sessions. In the fourth OSU defeated North Carolina, 19-8, winning the sabre, 5-4, foil, 6-3 and epee, 8-1. In the final session OSU defeated Johns Hopkins, 18-9, winning the sabre, 6-3, foil, 5-4 and epee, 7-2. Meet the Coaches
Entering his third season at Ohio State, head coach Vladimir Nazlymov is expecting 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.
George Abaschidze is in his first season as assistant coach of the Ohio State fencing team. Originally from Georgia, he has lived and coached fencing in the U.S. for more than eight years. He brings valuable skills and experience to share with Nazylmov’s fast improving squad. Abaschidze was a Russian National Foil Champion numerous times throughout his career. During his tenure in the U.S. he was responsible for creating many successful members of the U.S. National Team during his coaching career.
Sophomore Sensations
In women’s epee, Shklar is looking to better her impressive 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. At the last OSU Open Shklar won the silver in women’s epee.
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. Parker placed first in sabre at the Remenyik Open in October.
New York, New York
Sisters Hanna and Metta Thompson are two highly talented freshmen from New York who are doing big things for the Buckeyes. Metta and Hanna got their college careers off to a great start in October by placing first and third respectively in women’s foil at the Remenyik Open at Northwestern University. They continued that success at the first OSU Open with bronze medal finishes in foil.
Hanna Thompson placed first at the junior nationals this year and third at Senior Nationals in 2000. She was also the alternate for the 2001 Junior World Team.
Metta Thompson was a member of the junior and senior team that placed first at the 2000 and 2001 Summer Nationals and an alternate to the 2000 Cadet World Team.
Global Competitors
Jason Rogers (Fr., Los Angeles, Calif./Brentwood) won a gold medal in men’s sabre at the 2001 Junior World Cup in Frascotti, Italy in November. Colin Parker also competed at the competition, placing 30th in sabre.
Up Next
The Buckeyes will travel to State College, Pa. for the Penn State Dual Meets on Jan. 26-27.
