April 9, 2018
By Joanne Norell
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame freshman foilist Nick Itkin added to his medal collection last week, snaring an individual gold and a team bronze at the FIE Junior World Championships in Verona, Italy, less than two weeks after winning an individual and team NCAA Championship with the Irish.
Itkin became the first American male to win gold at the Junior World Championships since 2015, and the first American men’s foilist to win since Alex Massialas in 2013.
Itkin went 6-1 in pools to earn a first-round bye in direct elimination, then went 7-0 en route to the championship. Through his first three rounds, the Los Angeles native gave up a combined eight touches.
The competition only got tougher from there as Itkin defeated teammate Geoffrey Tourrette 15-12 after breaking a 9-9 tie in the Round of 16. In the quarterfinal, he jumped out to a 6-1 lead over Japan’s Kenta Suzumura before his opponent came back to knot the score at 10. Still tied at 11, Itkin closed on a 4-1 run to win 15-12 and guarantee himself a medal.
In the semifinal, Itkin faced teammate Sidarth Kumbla, falling behind 4-0 and 8-4 to start the bout before going on a 9-1 run to take a 13-9 lead. Kumbla responded with four straight touches to tie the match again, but Itkin got the final touch in extra time, winning 14-13.
In the final, Itkin never trailed against Italy’s Tommaso Marini, going on to win 15-11 for the top spot on the podium.
Other Irish team members competing were sophomore women’s foilist Finnula Mageras (Ireland) and freshman men’s epeeist Stephan Ewart. Mageras finished 32nd in the junior event, while Ewart finished 44th.
Irish assistant coach Aleks Ochocki served as team co-captain for both U.S. cadet and junior teams, which took home 10 combined individual medals and team medals in women’s sabre (silver), men’s sabre (bronze), women’s foil (gold) and men’s foil (bronze)
FIE Seoul Grand Prix
Three sabre fencers with Irish ties also competed at the FIE Grand Prix in Seoul, South Korea, headlined by an eighth-place finish from Mariel Zagunis on April 2.
The two-time Olympic champion returned to competition for the first time since the birth of her daughter, Sunday, and was the top American female finisher at the event. Also competing on the women’s side was senior Francesca Russo, who placed 68th. On the men’s side was senior Jonah Shainberg, who came in 112th.
— ND —
Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame men’s tennis and fencing programs, in addition to assisting with football communications and overseeing production of the football Gameday Magazine. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.