Sara Cunningham and Coach Terrence in Goppingen.

Nellya Cadet and Junior fencers have been balancing travel with school this month as they compete internationally and prepare for final exams; add college application deadlines to the mix and life can become stressful!  We can see our advanced fencers pulling strength and skill sets from reserves begun in the     Y-10 years of training and from supportive parents and coaches.  We love watching them utilize their fencing skills on the strip and in life--and are always proud when they earn the right to compete on the world stage, because that usually includes a German Christmas market in December!  Results from the most recent events:  

JR. Sosnowiec POL                         

Sara and Tori warming up in Goppingen.

Nov. 16

JR. Dormagen GER 

Nov 30

CDT.  Goppingen GER

Dec. 7

Lena Johnson, Barnard College Class of 2018, Columbia University Fencing Team and her coach, Terrence Lasker

The college acceptance letters have begun to arrive accompanied by the usual bittersweet celebrations. There is great satisfaction in knowing our athletes are sought after by top U.S. colleges and universities. We are proud our fencers are well-prepared for the athletic, academic and social challenges that lie ahead, sometimes far away from their Nellya roots. But coaches, who can devote 10 years or more preparing their athletes for opportunities such as these, have mixed emotions as they send their students into new training and competitive environments.

Haley Fisher, Duke University Class of 2018 Fencing Team and her coach, Maestro Arkady Burdan.

Lena Johnson and Haley Fisher will soon begin their NCAA fencing careers! Lena has been accepted to the Barnard College Class of 2018 and will be fencing for the Columbia University Lions.  Haley Fisher will be our first Blue Devil, fencing for Duke University Class of 2018.  We are proud of these athletes and are excited they will be reunited with other Nellya collegiate fencers next year (Margaret McDonald, St. Johns, Daniel Wolfson, Stanford, Julia Abelsky, Northwestern, and Jason Choi, Princeton).

We look forward to more NCAA fencing news soon.  Stay tuned!

29 Nellya Fencers swept through the sabre events at The Steve Sobel SYC & Cadet in New Jersey, earning spots on the podium in every event and medals in all but one. Most notably, Christian Fernandes won both the Y-14 and Cadet MS events.  Other gold medalists were Himani Kalra (Y-10 WS), Alexis Anglade (Y-12 WS) and Christopher Walker (Y-12 MS). More results and photos are on the Nellya Blog.  

Y-12 Men's Sabre and Y-12 Women's Sabre Podiums

December North American Cup Dallas

Dec.12-16, 2013

The December NAC in Dallas yielded a bronze medal for Alex Walker in Cadet Men's Sabre and a 7th place finish for Henry Fisher in the same event.  Lena Johnson also had a good showing in Div.1Women's Sabre, finishing 10th.  

Div. 1 Women's Sabre

10.  Lena Johnson

27.  Skyla Powers

Cadet Men's Sabre

3.  Alex Walker

7.  Henry Fisher

37.  Andrew Sun

67.  Erwin Cai

77.  Chris Walker

Div. 1 Men's Sabre

45.  Grant Williams

Cadet Women's Sabre

14.  Lark Izenson

27.  Tori Johnson

 Ellen and Roger Zhao were honored with a reception at Nellya on December 21, 2013, for their generous contribution of 500 The Arkady Burdan Foundation polo shirts.  These high-quality polo shirts will be sold to benefit the Foundation for $40 each.  Proceeds from the sales will help the Foundation enrich the physical, educational and character development of children in need through the sport of fencing.  Celebrating the day with Maestro are Roger, Sabrina and Raymond Zhao.