By Anthony Bosco
Being an honorable mention All-American would please most people, but for Michael Golia it's a step down.
The 21-year-old Douglaston native finished ninth in the sabre competition at the recent NCAA Fencing Championships – held last month at Stanford University in California – for Pennsylvania University, just a few weeks off his victory at the Intercollegiate Fencing Association championships.
Golia is also a two-time first team All-American, finishing second in the nation his freshman year and fourth as a sophomore.
“It was just one of those days,” Golia said. “I guess I took it too easy and towards the end I just got some bad calls.”
Golia is considered one of the top fencers in the nation and his erratic performance at the NCAAs was surprising, especially to his coach, Dave Micahnik.
Micahnik, who has coached the Quakers since 1973, garnering numerous top 10 finishes, and has never had a losing season, said that despite his ninth-place finish, Golia is still among America's top fencers.
“It's really only a couple of points difference,” the coach said. “He lost a couple of bouts against people he probably should have beaten. He's still one of the best.
“I think he's a superb talent,” Micahnik added. “If he concentrated just on doing [fencing] and on a heavy duty training and competition program, he can be a national team fencer in a year or two.”
Golia first took up fencing when he was 9 with the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan. His talent was evident while he was still a student at Chaminade High School, winning the sabre USFA Cadet championship as a 17-year-old.
The junior, who is pre-med, competes solely in the sabre category. Sabre competition concentrates more on slashing and cutting as opposed to the foil and epee disciplines, which concentrate more on stabbing and touching.
Golia had numerous scholarship offers while at Chaminade and passed on attending local fencing power St. John's, which tied for second at the recent NCAA championships. Golia opted for an Ivy League education at Penn.
“I could have [gone] to St. John's and trained for the Olympics, but fencing would have been my life and I would not have gotten an Ivy League education,” he said.
His silver-medal performance during his freshman year at Penn started a career that has been nothing short of outstanding. He also earned first-team all-Ivy League honors, something he would repeat three straight times.
As a sophomore, in addition to his fourth-place NCAA finish, Golia took sixth at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regionals and a fourth-place finish at the 1999 IFA championships, something he would improve on in his junior year.
At the IFA Championships, held the first weekend in March at Yale University, Golia barely advanced to the second round, being seeded dead last in his pool. But he succeeded again the following day, just making the cut to the finals which pitted the event's best eight fencers.
Golia went undefeated on the final day of competition with an index of +20 in the individual championship final standings, winning seven matches without a loss and never allowing his opponents more than three touches.
On the final day at the IFA's Golia defeated St. John's representative Ivan Lee, who had defeated Golia the previous day. Lee is a member of the junior national team and St. John's won the team competition.
“They just couldn't touch him,” Micahnik said of Golia's competition. “And these were some of the best fencers in the country. I don't know of anyone in the country that he isn't capable of beating on the right day.”
Golia, however, was not nearly as successful at the NCAAs, winning just 14 out of 23 matches, which put him in ninth place, one slot out of second team All-American honors.
“I beat some really good people [ at the NCAAs],” Golia said. “I beat the guy who came in second, but lost to the guy who came in 22nd.”
All in all, however, it was a solid year for Golia, who helped Penn to a second place finish in the Ivy League, just behind Princeton, and was the only all-Ivy League first-team selection for the Quakers. Golia also led the men's team with 10 Ivy wins and tied for the lead with 29 overall victories.
Golia has one more year to win the NCAA championship, something that is most certainly on his agenda. But beyond college, fencing might fall to little more than a hobby for the 21-year-old, who has already balked at making a run at the Olympics this year.
“I had the choice of making the commitment to school or the Olympics and I just chose school,” said Golia, who is planning on attending medical school after his senior year. “You can get by, I guess, but you can't [get to the Olympics halfheartedly]. It's a lot more time and traveling.”
Golia said that if he pursued a spot on the Olympic team he would have to travel twice a month for competitions, one in America and one abroad.
His coach, however, said talent would not be obstacle.
“If he concentrated on his fencing he can be a candidate for 2004,” Micahnik said. “The talent's there, but it's a huge commitment.”
