Men's Fencing
The St. John's men's fencing team closed out its first perfect
regular season in five years with a trio of wins at Columbia, while
the women's team dropped two of three bouts. The matches at
Columbia - against Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers - close out the
2003-04 regular season for the Red Storm.
The St. John's men closed out the regular season with a 12-0
record after sweeping the afternoon matches, its first perfect
season since the 1999-2000 season. The women's team finished the
campaign with an 8-4 mark.
The men's team posted wins of 16-11 over Columbia, 22-5 over
Rutgers and 15-12 over Princeton. The Red Storm's foil team -
sophomore Nitai Kfir and freshmen Henry Kennard and Sam Wunderlich
- combined to win 19 of 27 bouts on the day. The saber and epee
teams both won 17 of 27 bouts.
Kfir, the runner-up at the 2003 NCAA Championships, went 9-0 on
the day, while Kennard and Wunderlich each won five of nine
bouts.
Men's Tennis
The St. John's men's tennis team took a break from match play
competition to compete in the Columbia Classic on the campus of
Columbia University.
Sophomore Aurelio Di Zazzo took home the Singles "A" consolation
bracket title defeating Harry Cicma of Rutgers 6-1, 6-0. On
Friday, Di Zazzo dropped a tough opening match to Jimmy Moore of
Columbia, 6-7 (6), 7-5, 7-6 (4), to fall into the consolation
bracket. He followed with two victories over Erez Cohen of
Manhattan and Adams of Rutgers to move onto the finals.
Newcomer Claudio Holim advanced to the Singles "B" semifinals
before falling to Columbia's Michael Accordino, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. In
his two opening matches, Holim downed Marty Moore of Columbia, 5-7,
7-5, 6-4 and Yale's Neil Tolaney, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Freshman Louis
Desmarteaux and sophomore Morgan Bauer also competed in the Singles
"B" bracket, with Desmarteaux winning his opening match, before
falling in the second round.
The Red Storm return to match play on February 20, when they
travel down to Norfolk, Va. St. John's will take on Old Dominion at
5 p.m. and follow with Norfolk State on February 21 at 9 a.m.