The fencing teams at both North and South have kicked off their fourth year as varsity programs in the school district, both seeing their first big tests at the Santelli Tournament on January 5.
North. Most of the starting fencers for North have returned, with only two starting members the boys’ squad graduating last year.
Last year, the girls’ epee squads took the district title. Although both teams had losing records last year, most of the matches were close, says coach Gail Kedoin. And all of the starting epee fencers on the girls team are returning again this year.
“Since last year,” Kedoin says, “they’re stronger, older, more mature, and they are learning now that they really want to win. They work great as a team.”
“I’m hoping that our big area for improvement is our sabre squad,” says Kedoin. “We will have a very young sabre squad. There are no seniors on the girls’ squad, and only one senior on the boys.’”
Overall two-thirds of the team has returned. Komal Kumar will serve as the girls’ captain this year, with Will Goldhirsch leading the boys as captain.
The team was off to a good start at the Santelli Tournament on January 5, where it finished 14th overall in the state. The epee squad placed 10th; the foil squad placed 20th; and the sabre squad placed 21st. Kedoin points out that last year, out of 46 teams, the foil squad placed 40th, the epee squad placed 32nd, and the sabre squad placed 37th, and the team finished tied for 40th. So, this year has already seen much improvement.
Following that, the girls came back after trailing 13-9 to defeat Moorestown Friends, 14-13, and now have a record of 1-0. “The girls never gave up, fenced hard, and was able to turn the score around into a meet win,” Kedoin said.
The boys fell to Moorestown Friends, 17-10, and now have a record of 1-0.
South. Last year, the girls squad finished with a record of 9-1, while the boys finished 9-4. While it should be a big year for South, coach George Michalik also says that it will be a big building year.
Following this season, the team will lose 12 seniors between the boys and girls, but Michalik says he is working on developing new talent that came out for the tryouts.
Returning for the boys are Michael Wang, a foil fencer who spent his summer fencing with the USFA (United States Fencing Association), where he qualified for the nationals in San Jose.
The strength should be in the sabre squad, which has two returning fencers: Alex Guo, a junior, who is also a high-rated sabre fencer who qualified for nationals with the USFA, and sophomore Stephen Yang, who took first place in the freshmen and sophomore sabre tournament last year.
The epee squad, which was probably the team’s weakest link last season, has two promising fencers in sophomore Eric Hu and Adam McGill, who has qualified for the varsity squad as a freshman, says Michalik.
For the girls, there are four returning seniors to the sabre squad. While the foil squad lost Vivian Hu, who played as a junior last year but is studying this season on a scholarship in France, returning to the foil squad is Sharon Guo, who took second in her division at nationals. Last year, she posted a record of 27-1. While she suffered a wrist injury in the offseason, she should be able to contribute to the team’s success.
There are some girls who have played for various fencing clubs who have come back and have looked even more impressive this year, Michalik says. Briana Nieradka, who placed 12th out of 80 in the nationals, will be a returning starter, along with Tiffany Hu.
At the Santelli tournament, the girls’ squad placed 27 out of 45. The epees came out 16th, sabre placed 34th, and foil placed 30th.
The boys’ squad will be competing in the Centrulo tournament this Saturday, January 10, and Michalik’s expectation is that the boys will be turning heads here.
The girls were scheduled to face Montgomery at home on Thursday, January 8, after News’ deadline. Kevin Gu and Briana Nieradka are the teams’ captains this year.
