For most students, the rising tensions in the Middle East seem a world away. They may have a loved one or a friend serving in the military in the region, but the troubles seem so far away.
Ohio State fencer Alexandra Shklar can relate very well to all of them. But Shklar’s experiences aren’t limited to just knowing a soldier who may be called into action — Shklar’s family is also in the midst of the situation in her homeland of Israel.
As the All-American in the epee division is preparing for another shot at the NCAA Championships from March 20-23 in Colorado Springs, Colo., her family’s safety is a constant thought. Her parents traveled to the United States a year ago to watch her compete for a national title and are planning on coming again if the potential war has not started by then.
With her parents and brother so far away, she said she feels helpless and wishes she was with them as they ride things out.
“It’s more in my mind when I’m over here,” she said. “When I’m over there, it seems more like home and you feel more secure and confident, and when I’m here I feel so isolated. You’ll hear something on the news late at night or while I’m asleep, but feel kind of helpless.”
Shklar talks to her parents nearly every day on the phone and returns to her hometown of Jerusalem during summer and winter vacations.
What scares Sklhar even more has been the danger her family has narrowly missed. Her mother, Myra, missed a bus one day and it exploded just a few minutes after she would have been aboard. Her father, Vladimir, missed a bombing at a restaurant by five minutes.
“When your family is in danger, you don’t want them to be there and you here, but this is the best place for me to be right now,” she said.
With the epee, Sklhar is one of the best Buckeyes around. She placed eighth a year ago at the national championships and sixth during her first year on the team. With a pair of wins as the top seed in women’s’ epee last weekend during the NCAA Midwest Regional qualifier at French Field House, she improved her record to 43-2 this season.
Overall, the Buckeyes qualified the entire men’s and women’s’ team — 14 fencers in all — to the national championships.
Sklhar chose to come to OSU over St. John’s University because of the emphasis Buckeye coach Vladimir Nazylmov places not only on fencing, but education.
“I came because of Coach (Nazylmov),” Sklhar said. “I met him at one of the tournaments, and America is one of the only places where you have the opportunity to combine both academics and sport. He wants to get first and get As.”
As a senior majoring in international relations, she routinely takes 20 credit hours and is looking at graduate school following graduation. She has one more year of eligibility left.
Shklar, who is a member of the Israeli national team, was not exactly going into the arms of strangers. Nazylmov was a long-time friend of her family when they lived in Russia. When she came to the United States, she embraced a team attitude, and three years later, her coach said she leads the squad by example and is one of the top fencers on the team.
“She’ll do anything for anyone,” said teammate Louise Bond-Williams. “She wants the team to do well; she’s very team-oriented.”
While she might be one of the best athletes, Shklar takes care of her teammates when they are not competing.
“She’s a very good person. As a team athlete, she’s unbelievably great, because she’s a leader for the whole team,” Nazylomov said. “She always takes care of mostly the young fencers because, for the freshman, it’s a new life without their parents.”
Sklar takes care of many of the little details, such as getting French Field House ready for an event, but more importantly, Nazylomov said Shklar is always helping to make sure everything in her teammates’ lives are all right. Most of the time, she is talking with them about being away from home and asking how their classes are going.
“She still knows what it was like for her when she started here, and she helps them out and makes it a little easier on other people,” Bond-Williams said.
