A Fantastic Season for Ridge Fencing

Art+credits+to+Brian+Wen%21

Art credits to Brian Wen!

Alexa Saylan ‘18

During the recent fencing season, Ridge fencers truly proved their dominance. The boys’ and girls’ teams, as well as the épée, foil, and sabre squads that comprise each team, competed with passion and consistently placed well.

Early in the season, the boys’ and girls’ teams displayed their capabilities. At the first major meet, County Championships, the boys’ team finished in first place overall and the girls’ team finished in second place. Sebastian Tirado and girls épée captain LeeAnn Choy each took first in foil and épée, respectively. Diya Kulkarni won third place in épée and girls’ team captain Ellie McCarthy won third place in sabre.

Throughout the regular season, both teams built up excellent records. The boys went 10-1 in the regular season, losing only to Hunterdon Central with a 14-13 bout score. The girls ended with an impressive 9-3 meet record. During the midseason Cetrulo tournament (boys) and Santelli tournament (girls), Ridge fencers continued their success. Competing against teams from across New Jersey, both the boys and girls fenced tenaciously and placed second overall. At the squad level, boys foil and girls épée won first place.

At the next major tournament, District championships in late January, the boys’ and girls’ teams accomplished another remarkable feat, both placing first overall. Girls’ épée, girls’ sabre, and boys’ foil each took home first place while boys sabre finished a close second. Individuals who placed include Choy, who took first in épée; girls’ foil captain Anna Peczak, who took third; boys’ team captain Felix Yin, who took first in épée; Tirado, who took first in foil; and James Liao, who took épée in foil.

Since the boys and girls teams performed excellently during the season, it came as no surprise that each team aimed to win the team state championship. The boys’ team, in particular, wanted to add a third consecutive state title to their 2015 and 2016 titles. Unfortunately, both teams were eliminated in the fourth rounds of their tournaments, with the boys losing to Bernards and the girls losing to Montgomery.

Even so, sabre squad captain Dan McCarthy ’18 does not consider this a loss for his team. He proudly comments, “Coming into this season we had such a young team with only one senior starter and a lot of new faces on varsity. I figured we would have a difficult season, but the team certainly rose to the occasion and we ended up doing extremely well. I can’t wait for next season as our team will be even stronger, and nearly none of our varsity starters are graduating.”

In early March, qualifying Ridge fencers competed at the individual state championships. LeeAnn Choy won her third consecutive state title. Other finishers included Nastassja Kuznetsova (sabre) in seventh place, Peczak in twelfth place, and Yin in thirteenth place.

Reflecting on her high school career, LeeAnn Choy ’17 states, “The high school fencing experience was exhilarating and unforgettable. It’s great ending on a high note and being with all of my teammates and friends I’ve made through my high school career.” Choy plans to fence at Columbia University next year.

The boys and girls fencing teams had an outstanding season this year. Make sure to follow them next year, as they will definitely build upon their successes!