International fencing

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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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