2002 Fencing Recap – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
May 3, 2002
Head coach Vladimir Nazlymov and the Ohio State fencing team took another giant step towards its ultimate goal of winning a national championship. Little was expected of the Buckeyes in 2001-02 after an eighth place finish (82 points) the previous year at the NCAA championships and a women’s team that went just 7-24.
Nazlymov and his staff had other ideas.
The Buckeyes (30-6 overall) capped off the season with a fourth place finish at the 2002 NCAA Championships, nearly doubling their output from a year ago with 140 points. The Buckeyes finished only behind fencing powers Penn State, St. John’s and Notre Dame at the competition. Even higher expectations are on tap for next season as six of Nazlymov’s top ten finishers at NCAA’s were freshmen and sophomores. Four freshmen placed in the top five in their respected events.
Nazlymov orchestrated a remarkable turnaround for his women’s squad. The women finished 18-3 with a No. 4 national ranking in 2002, much improving upon its 7-24 mark in 2001. The men also finished with a No. 4 ranking to compliment its 12-3 regular season mark. In January the women’s squad took top ranked Penn State down to the wire, only to fall 14-13 at the Penn State Duals.
Nobody had better years for the Buckeyes than freshmen and First Team All-Americans, Jason Rogers and Louise Bond-Williams. The two newcomers proved confident and executed like veterans. Bond-Williams, 42-0 during the regular season, captured the silver medal in women’s sabre at the NCAA championships and first place at the Midwest Regional Qualifier. Rogers, 32-0 in the regular season, won the bronze medal match in men’s sabre at the NCAA championships and placed first at the regional qualifier.
Sophomores Colin Parker and Alexandra Shklar once again recorded strong seasons for the Buckeyes after impressive freshman seasons in 2001. Parker finished his sophomore campaign 27-5, placing third in sabre at the Midwest Regional Qualifier and eighth at the NCAA championships, earning second team All-American status. Shklar was her impressive-self all year, going 48-3 in the regular season with a first place finish in epee at the regional qualifier. Shklar came in eighth at the NCAA’s in epee to garner second team All-America honors.
Hanna and Metta Thompson are a big reasons the Buckeyes have high expectations for 2002. The freshman, twin sisters stole the show for the Buckeyes in women’s foil. The identical twins posted identical records during the regular season, both going 48-5. They also both tied for third at the regional qualifier. At the NCAA’s Hanna placed third to earn first team All-America honors, just ahead of Metta, second team All-America, who placed fifth.
Nathan Weir turned in a solid season for the Buckeyes going 18-12 with a third place finish in foil at the regionals and 15th at NCAA’s. Weir will be counted upon for even bigger things next season for Nazlymov’s squad.
Other Buckeyes who played vital roles in 2002 include junior Toya Richmond, 29-13 during the regular season, placing seventh at the regionals in women’s epee. Brian Gross and Spencer Jones also had solid seasons in men’s epee. Gross, 23-8 during the regular season, finished third at the regional qualifier and 15th at NCAA’s. Jones, 22-5 during the regular season, finished fourth at regionals to compliment his top 20 finish at the NCAA’s.
2001-02 Record Men’s – 12-3 Women’s – 18-3 Head Coach – Vladimir Nazlymov, third year (Daghestan Institute’70)
Date Event Men Women 10/28 Remenyik Open NTS NTS 11/03 OSU Open NTS NTS 11/04 OSU Dual Meet vs. Michigan 22+5 14+13 vs. Detroit 25+2 19+5 vs. Case Western 25+2 25+2 vs. Michigan State 23+4 23+4 vs. Northwestern 20+7 12-15 1/13 Northwestern Duals vs. Lawrence — 23+4 vs. Temple — 16+11 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson — 19+8 vs. North Carolina — 19+8 vs. Johns Hopkins — 18+9 1/21 NAC Open/Junior NTS NTS 1/27 Penn State Duals vs. Hunter 21+6 23+4 vs. Pennsylvania 13-14 17+10 vs. Duke 18+9 18+9 vs. North Carolina 19+8 21+6 vs. Penn State 11-16 13-14 2/09 OSU Duals vs. Wayne State 22+5 20+7 vs. Case Western 24+3 24+3 vs. Cleveland State 23+4 24+3 vs. Northwestern 20+7 15+12 vs. Notre Dame 11-16 12-15 2/10 OSU Open NTS NTS 2/15-18 Jr. Olympic Champ. NTS NTS 3/2-3 NCAA Midwest Champ.# NTS NTS 3/9-10 NCAA Regionals* NTS NTS 3/21-24 NCAA Championships^ 4th 4th
# University of Notre Dame; South Bend, Ind. * Case Western University; Cleveland, Ohio ^ Drew University; Madison, N.J.
2002 Individual Results Men’s Epee William Jones 22-5 Brian Gross 23-8 Ricardo Jimenez 18-10
Men’s Foil Nathan Weir 18-12 Craig Galanter 21-9
Men’s Sabre Jason Rogers 32-1 Colin Parker 27-5 Kitz Siebert 22-7
Women’s Epee Alexandra Shklar 48-3 Toya Richmond 29-13
Women’s Foil Hanna Thompson 48-5 Metta Thompson 48-5
Women’s Sabre Louise Bond-Williams 42-1 Leah Tracy 27-19 Jennifer Ando 24-21
2002 Midwestern Conference Championships Top Individual Results South Bend, Ind. Louise Bond-Williams 1st, women’s sabre Spencer Jones 2nd, men’s epee Nathan Weir T3rd, men’s foil Kitz Siebert T3rd, men’s sabre Leah Tracy T3rd, women’s sabre Hanna Thompson T3rd, women’s foil Metta Thompson T3rd, women’s foil Gaelyn Park T3rd, women’s epee Alexandra Shklar T3rd, women’s epee Toya Richmond 5th, women’s epee Craig Galanter 5th, men’s foil David Carrino 6th, men’s foil Brian Gross 7th, men’s epee Jennifer Ando 10th, women’s sabre Kevin Dalley 13th, men’s foil
2002 NCAA Regional Qualifier Individual Results Cleveland, Ohio Jason Rogers 1st, men’s sabre Louise Bond-Williams 1st, women’s sabre Alexandra Shklar 1st, women’s epee Hanna Thompson 2nd, women’s foil Colin Parker 3rd, men’s sabre Brian Gross 3rd, men’s epee Spencer Jones 4th, men’s epee Leah Tracy 4th, women’s sabre Metta Thompson 4th, women’s foil Kitz Siebert 7th, men’s sabre Ricardo Jimenez 8th, men’s epee
NCAA Championship Results Madison, N.J.
Pl. Team Points 1. Penn State 195 2. St. John’s 190 3. Notre Dame 186 4. Ohio State 140 5. Columbia/Bernard 96 6. Stanford 92 6. Yale 92 8. Princeton 81 9. Pennsylvania 68 10. Rutgers 60 11. New York 58 12. Northwestern 56 12. Wayne State 56 14. Temple 45 15. Air Force 39 16. Brown 29 17. MIT 28 18. Brandeis 25 19. U.C. San Diego 23 20. Duke 22 21. John’s Hopkins 18 22. Harvard 14 23. Cal State Fullerton 13 24. Cleveland State 8 24. Drew 8 26. Boston College 7 26. UNC Chapel Hill 7
First-Team All-American Jason Rogers Louise Bond-Williams Hanna Thompson
Second-Team All-American Metta Thompson Alexandra Shklar Colin Parker
NCAA Qualifiers Louise Bond-Williams Leah Tracy Hanna Thompson Metta Thompson Jason Rogers Colin Parker Nathan Weir Brian Gross Spencer Jones Alexandra Shklar
