coach mokretsov

PRESS RELEASES, RESULTS

For Immediate Release: Brooklyn Trained Fencer Places 12th at His First Junior World Championship in Verona, Italy

April 2, 2018May 3, 2018By NY Fencing Academy (NYFA) 1 Comment

Brooklyn, NY (April 2, 2018) – First-time Junior World Championship Team member, 17-year-old, Alan Temiryaev, took 12th place in the individual epee competition on the first day of the Junior and Cadet World Championships in Verona, Italy.

Temiryaev, a member of last year’s Cadet World Team, defeated Marin Atanasov (BUL), 15-11, and Fynn Fafard (CAN), 14-11, to advance to the 32.

“I just came in feeling really confident. I was inspired by some other fencers who believe that if you believe you can do it, then you can do it,” Temiryaev said. “That was my mentality, especially against Fafard, where the score was touch for touch. I just believed I had to be stronger and more dominant and if I just believed in myself like I did, I just got those touches. It’s all about confidence and pulling through.”

After easily taking the bout against Goncalo Alves (POR), 15-5, Temiryaev faced Davide Di Veroli (ITA), the 2017 Cadet World Champion. Temiryaev kept the bout close, but at 9-8, Di Veroli put up three straight single touches and used the momentum to win, 15-10. Di Veroli went on to claim the silver in the event. Temiryaev will be back in action on Monday as part of the Cadet World Team.

“This is my first Junior World Championships and I hope there will be many more. I’m quite pleased with my result,” Temiryaev said. “Of course we would have wanted to do more and achieve as much as possible, but you know your limits and then for next year you work harder to achieve those limits.”

Temiryaev is a student at New York Fencing Academy in Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY. He has been training with Coach Misha Mokretsov since he began fencing at age 10.

New York Fencing Academy (NYFA) was founded in 2010 by owner and head coach Misha Mokretsov and is located in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. NYFA has quickly become a center for excellence in epee, with one of the strongest competitive epee programs in the country. NYFA has been ranked #1 in youth epee and Fencing Club of the Year by National Fencing Club Rankings, and has produced National and World Champions, and has members on the USA cadet and junior national teams and French junior national team. NYFA provides private lessons, group classes, day camps, and the biggest Summer epee camp in the US. Visit http://www.fencenyfa.com for more info.

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Contact: Misha Mokretsov
Company: New York Fencing Academy
Address: 2896 W 12th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11224
Club Phone: (718) 996-0426
Cell Phone: (347) 741-1343
info.nyfa@gmail.com
http://www.fenceNYFA.com

Alan Temiryaev (left) 12th in World Championships Juniors Verona, Italy 1 april 2018 pc: Trifiletti / Bizzi

RESULTS

SILVER & BRONZE, 5 NYFA FENCERS ON TEAM USA AT CADET WORLD CUP IN ESPOO, FINLAND

November 20, 2017March 21, 2018By NY Fencing Academy (NYFA)

We are super proud of our students who represented Team USA at the Cadet World Cup in Espoo, Finland – Congratulations to all!

Alan Temiryaev – earned Silver in the individual event – just one touch short of the champion title!
Jackie Khrol – earned Bronze in teams! She also took 5th place in individuals – just one touch away from bronze – fantastic fencing at only 14 years old!
Ethan Kushnerik – finished 7th out of 141 in individuals – also just 14 years old and one touch away from bronze! In teams, Ethan really showed impressive anchoring when he scored 21 points in less than 3 minutes! USA Team 5 was down by 8 points at the top of the 8th round, but Ethan’s incredible fencing secured the win against Belarus 45-42!
Melanie Dolgonos – made Top 32 in individuals despite a rough start, and earned her international points!
Anna Lanzman – finished 77th out of 140. Unfortunately, she had to fence with borrowed equipment because her bag got lost, but we’re sure Anna will make us proud many times in the near future.
Click here for our press release with many more details on the individual events.

Alan Temiryaev Silver, Ethan Kushnerik 7th Cadet World Cup Espoo Finland

Jaclyn Khrol’s Team takes Bronze at Cadet World Cup Espoo

Jaclyn Khrol 5th at Cadet World Cup Espoo

Ethan Kushnerik scores 21 points in 3 minutes in team event against Belarus

Jaclyn Khrol’s Team USA takes Bronze

USA Cadet Team Members

Go NYFA!

PRESS RELEASES

For Immediate Release: FIVE BROOKLYN TEENS COMPETE IN FINLAND FENCING WORLD CUP, AIM FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

November 20, 2017April 4, 2018By NY Fencing Academy (NYFA) 1 Comment

Brooklyn, NY (November 20, 2017) – New York Fencing Academy (NYFA) qualified five fencers — two boys and three girls — to represent Team USA at the Cadet World Cup in Espoo, Finland last week, where over 280 athletes from more than 25 countries competed. Only 20 of the best American athletes in the Cadet category (under 17 years old) may participate in world cups. As the second of three world cups this season, the Espoo competition was an essential step towards qualification for the World Championships in Verona, Italy next April.

In the men’s epee competition, Alan Temiryaev (George W Hewlett High School), who competed in last year’s World Championship, began the day as number one seed and went 5-1 in the preliminary round. His clubmate, Ethan Kushnerik (Mill Basin, York Prep School) went 4-2. For the first bout in direct elimination, Temiryaev fenced Jaron Kiiroja from Estonia with a decisive victory scoring 15-9. Kushnerik fenced Yelnur Tulegenov from Kazakhstan and won 15-11. In the next bout, Kushnerik was stronger than Henrik Priimagi from Estonia, winning 15-8. To make top 16, Temiryaev had to face Matias Kallio from Finland. In a close bout, Temiryaev won 12-10. Kushnerik faced one of the top US fencers, Harrison Kimatian. Despite the fact that Kimatian is older and more experienced, 14-year-old Kushnerik was the victor with a score of 15-11. Both NYFA boys won their next bouts and made top 8. Kushernik beat another US fencer, Jared Felker, and Temiryaev bested US fencer Tristan Szapary. To make top 4, Kushnerik fenced Great Britain’s Luke Mason. Kushnerik lost by one touch, 14-15. Nevertheless, it is the best result for Kushnerik, who was one of the youngest participants in Espoo.

Temiryaev moved forward and in a dramatic bout in overtime, beat Benjamin Dahlbo from Norway 7-6. The next bout would determine who made the finals. Temiryaev faced US athlete Jonas Hansen from Boston. They know each other well and just four days earlier, they fenced in the North American Cup, where Temiryaev won by one touch in overtime. This time he won again, with a comfortable score of 15-10. The final bout was also against a US teammate, Isaak Herbst. Temiryaev started weak and was down 7-1. He made a huge come back to 10-10, but in overtime, lost 10-11. Temiryaev earned the silver medal and Kushnerik took 7th place out of 141 fencers.

Three NYFA girls also represented Team USA, demonstrating the growing strength of the club’s female team. Jaclyn Khrol (Bensonhurst, Midwood High School), Melanie Dolgonos (Mill Basin, James Madison High School), and Anna Lanzman (Mill Basin, Stuyvesant High School) had a fun but challenging day of competition. In the preliminary round, Khrol was undefeated at 6-0, Dolgonos went 1-5, and Lanzman went 3-3. In direct elimination, Lanzman lost her first bout to Marta Dobkevica from Latvia. Lanzman was disadvantaged when her fencing bag was lost by the airline. In these instances, fencers will borrow from teammates, but it can be difficult since all equipment is custom fitted and built for each athlete. Dolgonos faced a tough opponent in her first bout to make top 64, but won 10-8 after Jacqueline Oien from Great Britain dislocated her knee and had to withdraw. In the bout for top 32, Dolgonos fenced Sara Della Cioppa from Italy and won with a strong 15-9 score. For top 16, Dolgonos lost to US fencer, Mina Yamanaka. The best result was earned by Khrol, who also was one of the youngest fencers at the competition. After going undefeated in pools, Khrol continued to dominate and won her first direct elimination bout 15-6 against Lizaveta Zaretskaya from Belarus. To make top 16, Khrol had a confident victory over Eleanor Taylor from Great Britain at 15-11. The next bout wasn’t as smooth, as Khrol was losing 2-6, but managed to turn it around and win 15-10 against Hanna Lipthay from Hungary. To make top 4, Khrol had to face the previous World Cup winner and US fencer, Claire Beddingfield. Khrol was winning 12-10, then with only 10 seconds left, Beddingfield scored a touch. With four seconds remaining, Beddingfield scored again in the last second but it was outside of the fencing strip. The referee didn’t see the violation and awarded the touch. In overtime. Khrol lost 12-13, one touch short of the bronze medal. At just 14 years old, Khrol earned an impressive 5th place in a Cadet World Cup, Dolgonos made top 32, and Lanzman finished 77th out of 140. Our athletes will be back in action at the North American Cup in Portland, Oregon in December.

New York Fencing Academy (NYFA) was founded in 2010 by owner and head coach Misha Mokretsov and is located in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. NYFA has quickly become a center for excellence in epee, with one of the strongest competitive epee programs in the country. NYFA has already produced National and World Champions, and has members on the USA cadet national team and French junior national team. NYFA provides private lessons, group classes, and camps for students of all ages and all levels, beginners to advanced. Visit http://www.fencenyfa.com for more info.

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IN THE NEWS

CONEY ISLAND FENCING CHAMP WINS GOLD IN DRAMATIC FINAL BOUT

March 2, 2017April 4, 2018By NY Fencing Academy (NYFA)

http://bklyner.com/coney-island-fencing-champ-wins-gold-dramatic-final-bout/

BKLYNER
March 2, 2017
Carly Miller

Alan Temiryaev wins 2017 Junior Olympic National Championship
in Junior Men’s Epee. pc: USA Fencing

Victory moment for 16-year-old Alan Temiryaev.

A disciplined but fun-loving sophomore at James Madison High School is setting records for fencing and laser-sharp focus — from the fencing academy in Coney Island to championships around the world.

In February, Alan Temiryaev, back from a debilitating knee injury, nabbed the Gold in the Junior Olympics in a spectacular and dramatic bout. And at 16 years old, he is one of the youngest to win the Junior (under-20) age category, beating out 301 competitors this year.

This young fencer has quite the accolade list already: The event, held in Missouri, earned Temiryaev a National Championship medal and locked his spot on the USA National Team to compete in the World Championships. (He already won two bronze medals at World Cups in Austria and France.)

The winning moment

Over the long day, Temiryaev faced many challengers in multiple bouts, including previous champions. But by the final match, both competitors were exhausted and cramping, said Temiryaev. “It was all about willpower. We were both tired, we woke up at 6am and it was 6pm already and competing for this last touch.”

Temiryaev started off this bout losing and couldn’t catch up — until the very last moment.

With just 20 seconds left and trailing 4-6, Temiryaev pulled out his skillful combination of touches and a unique perseverance and won in overtime seconds with a score of 7–6.

“They both couldn’t move anymore. Most people thought it was over. But he’s famous for bringing bouts back from bad situations,” said Coach Misha Mokretsov. “With Alan, I never know what’s going to happen!”

Alan Temiryaev (center), Coach Misha Mokretsov (left) (Photo via NYFA)

And Temiryaev was flying solo, since the final bout took place far from the coaches seating area. “The students cannot hear and you can coach only in the break. He was on his own. It was his own willpower,” he said.

A unique blend of strategy, confidence, and courage

Temiryaev has been fencing since he was 10 years old, under the tutelage of Coach Misha Mokretsov of Coney Island’s New York Fencing Academy.

“At first, I had no idea it would be this much fun,” Temiryaev told BKLYNER, detailing the skills for when to attack and how, using the different rules of each weapon. “It’s strategic and competitive, with discipline involved.”

“Most of the time I observe a fencer before I fence them, and if he’s aggressive I’ll use that to my advantage,” he said. “But sometimes, I react in the moment.”

Alan Temiryaev wins 2017 Junior Olympic National Championship in Junior Men’s Epee. (Photo via NYFA)

Temiryaev loves to win but also sees great value in losing. “Last year at the nationals I lost to some crazy guy from the college level world team,” he said. “I got destroyed, but this year it was fun to realize I’m the one who’s winning in that age group.”

Coach Mokretsov saw something special in Temiryaev right away, he said. “He started like a regular kid, but in little less than a year he got second place at Summer Nationals for 10 and younger — which was surprising because he was a beginner,” said Mokretsov, whose Coney Island-based fencing academy (NYFA) has one of the strongest competitive epee programs in the country.

He attributes some of that to technique and skill, but even more so to mental strength.

“He managed to overcome pressure and scored complex actions, which requires fine execution and takes a lot of courage — even without pressure,” said Mokretsov.

“I’ve been coaching for 10 years and have had a lot of good kids,” said Mokretsov. “But usually they are tense when it comes to close bouts. But Alan does better under pressure. That’s what makes him unique. Many people can have a good day when it’s easy, but when you’re not having a good day — which happens a lot in our sport — it’s psychological, and opponent matches play a big role,” he said.

Before coaching, Mokretsov fenced on the Ukranian National Team and came to the US to attend St. John’s University on the NCAA team. “I still know how it feels to be an athlete,” he said. “And I love working with kids because they always raise my mood. They’re always positive and open to the challenge.”

Next, Temiryaev will travel with his coach, Misha Mokretsov, to compete at the World Championships in Bulgaria in April.

For young fencers, Temiryaev has this advice:

“Definitely keep trying no matter what. I lost so many times before I won.”

NEW YORK FENCING ACADEMY

BROOKLYN & LONG ISLAND