High School North sophomore Celine Demorre didn’t see much action last year as a member of the Knight fencing team. This season, though, she took the leap as the varsity saber squad’s C strip fencer — and in a big way. Demorre went 9-0 in the team’s first quad meet of the season and followed that up by helping the saber squad take gold at the Santelli State Championship on January 5.
Demorre, senior Elysia Wang, and junior Katie Khaw came in first over 46 teams from across the state. The tournament was the first state-level meet of the season.
“It was her first big tournament,” head coach Gail Kedoin said. “This is where the pressure is. I wasn’t sure how she would handle it, but as she went on in the tournament, she got stronger and stronger. Even when she got insecure, we just told her ‘You’re doing great. Just work on this,’ and she took it rather than get upset, even when she lost. She worked really hard and came through with big wins for us.”
Wang has been a staple for the last four years, while Khaw is a three-year veteran. Both girls were on the last two seasons’ bronze medal squads.
“Elysia is very, very consistent,” Kedoin said. “Everyone looks up to her. She always looks at what people need to work on and comes up with ways of improving them. When she’s out there competing, everyone looks up to her because she gives it her all and shows what dedication can do. Katie is a fireball. She’s very powerful and determined. Everybody can see how strong you can be.”
Khaw said she has watched her saber squad and the North team as a whole gradually improve since her freshman year, but she never expected the gold medal at Santelli.
“Freshman year, we finally medaled, and that was great,” she said. “Last year it was like, ‘Okay, cool, we’re still improving.’ This year shows that yes, we are capable of moving even higher. Our coach always said ‘Fence one point at a time.’ That’s what we really did throughout the day. It wasn’t like we were thinking ahead for the gold.”
Demorre agreed. “When I saw [the trophy], I was just baffled,” she said. “I didn’t expect that we would do so well. It was really a shock.”
The Knights are looking ahead to districts, their next major tournament, on Saturday, February 1.
Demorre said the Santelli experience is a “confidence booster.” “You can know that it will be a good season,” she said. “It’s going to be good motivation to keep doing our best.”
The North girls placed 24th overall, while South placed 16th. For the boys at the Cetrulo State Tournament, North placed ninth overall, which Kedoin said is the best finish she’s seen as the team’s coach. South came in 13th, placing fifth in both saber and epee.
Boys’ Fencing
North (3-0). A 14-13 win over Mendham on Saturday, December 21. Saber: Michael Leung, 3-0. Kyle Jacobson, 2-1. Marco Palombit, 1-2. Foil: Wilfred Kwok, 2-1. Taiway Kyon, 2-1. Dylan Pyne, 2-1. Epee: Prashant Baliga, 1-1. William Zhang, 1-1.
A 21-6 win over Somerville on Saturday, December 21. Saber: Leung, 3-0. Jacobson, 2-0. Palombit, 2-0. Weslly Pan, 1-0. Foil: Kyon, 3-0. Pyne, 2-0. Kwok, 1-1. Vincent Wu, 1-0. Epee: Baliga, 2-0. Zhang, 2-0. Jeremy Kaish, 1-1. Amit Sarma, 1-0.
A 21-6 win over Teaneck on Saturday, December 21. Saber: Jacobson, 2-0. Palonbit, 2-0. Walter Wu, 2-0. Leung, 1-0. Shyam Paidipati, 1-0. Foil: Kyon, 2-1. Pyne, 2-0. Kwok, 1-0. Max Ren, 1-0. V. Wu, 1-1. Epee: Baliga, 2-0. Sarma, 2-0. Kaish, 1-0. Zhang, 1-1.
South (0-1). A 14-13 loss to Governor Livingston on Saturday, December 21.
Girls’ Fencing
North (3-0). A 14-13 win over Mendham on Saturday, December 21. Saber: Celine Demorre, 3-0. Katie Khaw, 3-0. Elysia Wang, 2-1. Foil: Tianna Kwok, 1-2. Khyati Lad, 1-2. Lucy Ye, 1-2. Epee: Srilaya Bhavaraju, 1-2. Kally Mihova, 1-1. Tanvee Varma, 1-1.
A 14-13 win over Somerville on Saturday, December 21. Saber: Demorre, 3-0. Khaw, 3-0. Wang, 3-0. Foil: Ye, 2-1. Lad, 1-2. Epee: Varma, 2-1.
An 18-9 win over Teaneck on Saturday, December 21. Saber: Demorre, 3-0. Khaw, 3-0. Wang, 3-0. Foil: Anusha Gunti, 1-0. Kwok, 1-0. Lad, 1-2. Ye, 1-1. Epee: Varma 2-1. Lillian Chen, 1-1. Mihova, 1-1. Nikita Nangia, 1-0.
South (0-1). A 17-10 loss to Governor Livingston on Saturday, December 21.
