JAMAICA, N.Y. -- Led by sophomore Ivan Lee (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Tech), the St. Johns University mens and womens fencing team posted several this past weekend at the North American Cup in Ontario, California.

Bringing together the top fencers in North America, in addition to some Europeans and South Americans, the Red Storm, one of the top collegiate programs in the country, had five individuals post top-10 finishes.

These were very strong performances, St. Johns Head Coach Yury Gelman said. The ability to perform at this level shows that you can compete at the top level on the college level. Im very impressed.

Those finishes were led by Lee, a first-team All-American last season, who took the gold medal in the mens sabre, beating teammate Keeth Smart (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Tech), 15-13. Lee and Smart each won five 15-touch matches to reach the championship.

Lee, who won the Junior World Cup in Italy last month, topped Smart, St. Johns two-time NCAA Champion and United States Olympian with the win. Ive been practicing with him for the last month, Lee said, and I just tried to figure out his movesI guess it worked.

Its great for Ivan, Smart said. If Im going to lose to anyone, Id want it to be him.

Other top-10 finishes on the mens side included junior Doron Levit (Givatiem, Israel/Kalai), who finished in fifth place in the epee.

On the womens side, freshman Irina Khouade (Moscow Region, Russia/Municipal Lyceum) finished in third place in the foil, and junior Marisa Mustilli (South Orange, N.J./Columbia) finished in ninth place in the sabre.

The Red Storm compete next on January 12 at the NAC Junior Open in Greenville, South Carolina.