Local fencer Jonathan Piskovatskov earned a bronze medal at the Cadet World Fencing Championships on Monday in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Piskovatskov is a Junior at Westchester Academy for International Studies High School in Spring Branch.
Fencers are selected based on cumulative points scored at national and international tournaments over the course of the fencing season from July 2016 through February 2017. Only the highest three-ranking fencers qualify to represent the United States for the Cadet (under 16-years-old) World Championships. The World Championships are the highest level of international competition equivalent to the Olympics for Cadet and Junior Fencers.
Piskovatskov earned his bronze medal for third on Monday, April 3, 2017 in a field of 132 top world fencers. Piskovatskov made it to the top four, losing only to gold-medal winner Davide Di Veroli of Italy in the semifinals.
Fellow Alliance Fencing Academy club members Gigi Vierheller and Sean Wilson have also earned spots on the United States World Championship Teams. Vierheller, formerly a student at Lamar High School, is on the Junior Women’s Epee Team. Sean Wilson, a senior at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory High School, is on the Junior Men’s Epee Team. Vierheller is a starter on the Varsity fencing team at Columbia University. Wilson has been accepted to the Wharton school of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and will be fencing there next year. Piskovatskov is also an alternate for the Junior Men’s Epee World Championships.
Piskovatskov started “hanging around fencers” at Alliance Fencing Academy when he was 3-years-old. At 7, Piskovatskov started fencing. At 10, he did chores around the club in exchange for lessons with his dad.
In fact, fencing runs in the family. His dad Andrey Geva was the United States Olympic Coach for Women’s Epee at last year’s Olympics in Rio and currently is the National Women’s Epee Coach responsible for training the next Olympic team. Jonathan’s older brother Anton earned a fencing scholarship to Penn State where he is a Varsity starter. His 9-year-old younger sister Eliana has already taken several medals in youth competitions.
Coach Geva says, “Jonathan is very goal-oriented. He sets his goals in fencing and works hard to achieve them.” Jonathan’s hard work has paid off. At 10, Jonathan won every Youth-10 competition on the National Fencing Circuit. He was the #1 ranked fencer at yearend in his division in both 2010 and 2011. At 14, Jonathan moved up a division competing against fencers up to 16 years old. He finished the season ranked #1.
Jonathan attributes his success to hard work, training and “being able to regularly fence so many other great fencers at the club [Alliance Fencing Academy]. It’s really like my family outside my family.”
Alliance Fencing Academy has grown to over 350 students, making it the largest epee fencing school in the country. Alliance has two locations – one in downtown Houston and one in The Woodlands. The two locations share students and World-class coaches. Three of Alliance’s coaches are Designated Coaches for the United States’ international teams.
At the World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria April 1-10, 2017, the US-designated coaches come from Alliance Fencing Academy, too. Andrey Geva is coaching the US Cadet Epee Team and Junior Women’s Epee Team. Sergey Danilov will coach the US Junior Men’s Epee Team.
For more information, contact:
email inform@alliance-fencing-academy.com.
Or Sarah Thow, Alliance Fencing Academy Office Manager at 713.410.6655.