No. 4 Fencing Plays Host to NCAA Regional Qualifier – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Fencing
March 4, 2003
Columbus, Ohio-After claiming the 2003 Midwest Championship title March 2 in South Bend, Ind., the No. 4 fencing squad will play host to the NCAA Regional Qualifier March 8 at the French Field House in Columbus, Ohio. The meet is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
NCAA Qualifying Breakdown
Teams can qualify a maximum of 12 competitors for the NCAA championships. A competitors seeding heading into NCAA regional competition is worth 40 percent of a qualifying score. Where a competitor finishes at the NCAA is worth 60 percent of your qualifying score.
Quote From the Coach
“We are very confident in all areas, especially men’s sabre, women’s sabre and women’s foil,” Nazylmov said. “We believe that we can compete with any team in the country. To be successful at NCAA’s we must qualify as many people as possible and that is 12. Last year we only qualified 10 and placed fourth. We want to do much better this year. Our kids are ready to compete.”
Men Claim Title, Women Second
The Buckeyes placed first overall last weekend at the 2003 Midwest Championships in South Bend, Ind. The Buckeyes took the competition with a combined score of 855 points. Notre Dame took second overall and trailed Ohio State by 20 points.
The men’s squad took first with a score of 435 and bested the Fighting Irish by a total of 25 points. Sophomore Jason Rogers stole the competition after placing first in sabre. Leading the way in sabre for the Buckeyes were Adam Crompton (2nd), Kitz Siebert (3rd) and Colin Parker (5th). In foil action, Matt Carbone captured the third spot and Alexander Law came in at No. 5. Brian Gross wrapped up men’s epee with a third place finish.
The women’s team tallied 420 points placing a close second behind Notre Dame with 425. Louise Bond-Williams claimed first in sabre and Marguerite Plekhanov took third. Alexandra Shklar topped women’s epee with a third place finish and Metta Thompson placed fifth in women’s foil.
2003 Midwest Championships Combined Overall: No. 1 Ohio State…………………………..855 No. 2 Notre Dame…………………………..835 No. 3 Northwestern…………………………770
Men’s Overall: No. 1 Ohio State…………………………..435 No. 2 Notre Dame…………………………..410 No. 3 Northwestern…………………………385
Women’s Overall: No. 1 Notre Dame…………………………..425 No. 2 Ohio State…………………………..420 No. 3 Northwestern…………………………385
Dual Meets wrap up
The No. 4 men’s team finished dual meet competition with an overall record of 21-2. The No.4 women’s squad finished dual meets with a solid 20-2 overall record.
Twins Take First, Second
Twin sisters, Metta and Hanna Thompson placed first and second in the foil competition (146 competitors) at the United States Fencing Association Junior Olympic Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo. Feb. 15.
Buckeyes Nationally Ranked
Freshman Adam Crompton is ranked No. 1 in the latest junior men’s sabre rankings released by U.S. Fencing. Sophomore Jason Rogers is No. 3 in men’s sabre. Twin sisters Hanna and Metta Thompson are No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, in the junior women’s foil rankings.
Ohio State remains No. 4 in both the men’s and women’s team poll released by US Fencing Feb 13. The men’s team, 21-2 on the year, suffered their first defeat of the season Jan. 25 to Notre Dame at the Ohio State Duals. The men fell to Penn State, 22-5, in its second defeat of the season at the Notre Dame duals Feb. 1. The women’s squad suffered its first two losses of the season at the Notre Dame duals. The Buckeyes dropped to 20-2 on the season after suffering defeats to Penn State, 11-7 and Air Force, 15-12.
Three Remain Undefeated
Three Buckeyes remain unbeaten in dual meet competition this season in men’s sabre: Jason Rogers (15-0), Colin Parker (16-0) and Adam Crompton (27-0). Matt Carbone advances to 50-6 in men’s foil, while Alexander Law follows closely posting a 36-6 record in foil.
On the women’s side, newcomer Sherice Gearhart is leading the way in epee with an impressive 48-3 mark. Junior Alexandra Shklar posted a 58-2 record. In sabre, NCAA silver medallist Louise Bond-Williams is 30-2 while Michelle Lange (25-6), Kristin Rill (29-5) and Marguerite Plekhanov (35-6) help cast a solid sabre team. Twin sisters Hanna Thompson and Metta Thompson are dominating once again in foil, posting identical records of 49-2 in dual meet competition.
The Coaches
After three seasons at the helm of the program, Vladimir Nazlymov has the Buckeyes headed in the right direction.
Last season proved to be Nazlymov’s best yet. The Buckeyes, 30-6 overall in dual meet competition, garnered 10 NCAA qualifiers, six All-Americans and finished fourth at the NCAA championships, scoring 140 points which nearly doubled their scoring output from 2001.
Gia Abashidze is in his second season as assistant coach of the Ohio State fencing team. Originally from Georgia, he has coached fencing and lived in the U.S. for more than eight years. Abashidze 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.
Terrence Lasker is in his first year as an assistant coach for the Buckeye fencing program after spending the last two years at the team armorer. Lasker has a long standing relationship with Nazlymov. Lasker began fencing under Nazlymov when Nazlymov moved to the United States in 1991 in Kansas City, Mo. He is a 10-time member of the U.S. National Team and is a five-time national champion. Lasker, a native of Kansas City, Mo., captured a bronze medal at the 1994 Cadet World Championships and was a volunteer assistant coach for the Buckeyes during the 1999-00 season. He also was a finalist at the 1999 Senior World Cup in Moscow.
Next Up
The Buckeyes look to better last year’s fourth place finish at the NCAA Championships March 20-23 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
