MHS becomes fifth school to add fencing

Hun, PDS split early rival matchup

By: Bob Nuse
   New coaches, new programs and a long-standing rivalry. The high school fencing season in the Packet-area will have a little bit of all of those things.
   The new program this year will be at Montgomery, where the Cougars will sport an official varsity team for the first time. Montgomery has had individual fencers attend state competitions in the past, but this will be the first year with full boys’ and girls’ teams.
   "We have 35 kids in the program right now," said Johanna Snedeker, the Cougars’ head coach. "We have 19 boys and 16 girls, which is an excellent turnout for the first year. Nine of the kids we have are brand new to fencing and are learning quickly. And 10 of the kids have some real solid experience.
   "The captains have a lot of experience. We also have 11 seniors, so it is an older team. Not all of the seniors have experience, but they are older and understand what it’s like to be a part of a high school program."
   Snedeker is a first-year head coach, but she is not new to handling fencers. She has been the faculty member who would attend the competitions with the Montgomery fencers at individual competitions. Now, she gets to handle the entire program.
   "I’ve been taking some lessons and I’m learning more and more," said Snedeker, who is also the Cougar girls’ gymnastics coach. "I’ve been taking the club fencers to the state and individual competitions for years. My involvement was minimal, but the interest was always growing. Last year I took 10 kids to the state tournament.
   "When I was approached by Tony (Maselli, the Montgomery athletic director), he wanted someone in the high school and asked if I wanted to do it. I was happy to take it on. Fencing is a growing sport in this area, there are a lot of new programs."
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   Last year, West Windsor-Plainsboro North and WW-P South were two of the new programs. Gail Kedoin is back for her second season at North, while George Michalik is now the new head coach at South.
   "I helped out with the program last year and when the old coach left, I picked it up," said Michalik, a retired electrical engineer. "Most of my experience has been helping out with other programs. But it’s such a wonderful sport and I’m just glad to be able to help out and do what I can."
   The Pirates, who open their season on Jan. 3, have more than 60 students involved in the program.
   "There has been a tremendous amount of interest," Michalik said. "The kids have been great and I have been getting some help from the parents group. Birget Roy, whose son Kiron fences for us, has been a great help. She got the club team started three years ago and has been a tremendous help in getting what we need. She almost single-handedly got the program started at South."
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   Two programs that have been established for years are the ones at the Hun School and Princeton Day School. The two programs got their seasons started on Wednesday, splitting the girls’ and boys’ matches.
   PDS won the boys’ match, 15-12, as Kevin Suyo, Oliver Elbert and Philip Grudzina all went 2-1 in sabre. In the foil, Trevor Hummel was 3-0, including a key win in the 13th bout. In epee, Jeremy Brinster was 2-1 and won the 14th bout, coming back from 2-4 down in 5-touch bout. Nick Krywopusk went 3-0 for the Panthers.
   PDS was on top at the end of the first Round, 5-4, thanks to an undefeated epee round. Hun gained momentum and the score was 9-9 at end of second round. PDS started the third round by going 3-0 in sabre.
   Hun picked up two wins apiece from Matt Heck, Aaron Rubinstein and Tom Hsieh in foil. Teddy Weller went 2-1 in sabre and Eric Weinand went 2-1 in epee.
   In the girls’ match, Hun came away with an 18-9 win. Valencia Washington was 3-0 in sabre, while Cimarron Sharon was 3-0 in foil. Ambika Singh was 2-0 in foil and Lauren Holstein was 2-1 in epee.
   For PDS, Alex Clint was 3-0 in epee, while Pam Lee went 2-1 in sabre.