Congratulations to another generation of our great fencers who will be going on to the next chapter of life: college!
Nathan Vaysberg, St. John’s University
Anton Chmut, Hunter College
Bennett Cohen, Sacred Heart University
Ada Marie Gutierrez, Northwestern University
Nathan Vaysberg will be attending St. John’s University and Anton Chmut will be attending Hunter College. Both Nathan and Anton were in our club practically from the beginning of its establishment. They are the ones who, along with their clubmates, put our name on the top of the charts nationally and internationally! Over the years at NYFA, they changed tremendously — from young 10 year old boys to confident young men with amazing fencing results and experience. I’m happy I witnessed it and helped them along the way.
This year was especially successful for both Nathan and Anton. Together they set many records for our club! Nathan made top 8 in Division 1 and Anton top 16! As a team, they took silver medals at Junior Olympics and at January NAC in seniors! As a Cadet, Anton earned bronze in the Cadet European Circuit and medaled many times at NACs.
They traveled all over the USA and world together, and made wonderful memories and became good friends! We all love to win and compete, but sport is not just about that – it’s about having a great time with people united by the same goals, going together to new achievements with teammates that genuinely support you and wish you the best. It’s about discovering that you can do more than you ever thought you would and surely about making unforgettable memories and new friends!
Now they will continue fencing in college and we wish them the best of luck. Nathan will be my first student to continue the legacy on the St. John’s fencing team where I spent my college years! Both will go to colleges that are close to our club and will continue training to new records while pursuing their degrees!
Bennett Cohen, who will be attending Sacred Heart University, seemed to always be part on my coaching career. It’s strange to realize that he is leaving too. When he started, he was that little, quick, and energized kid that everyone admired – he was beating older fencers and winning all relay races and it was just fun to see him breaking new records everyday. He was always loyal to NYFA and traveled all the way from LI to Brooklyn for years. Bennett held the record for best results for the amount of training that was available to him. We wish Bennett a fun and productive college life and surely we’ll be waiting for him to visit NYFA!
Ada Marie Gutierrez will be attending Northwestern University! Ada joined our club later and had limited ability to train with us due to the distance, but she was extremely hardworking and it paid off great as she will be going to one of the best colleges in the USA where she will continue fencing as well!
I’m proud that I have such hard working, loyal, and dedicated students! You made NYFA the place it is now and it will always be your second home!
— Misha
