Singh set standard in freshman season
By: Bob Nuse
Rey Gonzalez knew Ambika Singh would be something special as a fencer at the Hun School. But even he could not have expected this kind of freshman season.
"I thought she was pretty good, but I had no way of knowing how she would do," the veteran Hun fencing coach said. "We’ve had a lot of promising fencers come through here. I have been lucky to have some come in with a lot of promise. Some of them realized that promise and had great careers. Some never lived up to the promise."
Singh exceeded any expectations that might have come with her already lofty status in the national rankings. As a freshman, the Montgomery resident won every one of her matches, finishing the season with a 53-0 record.
"It was really fun and being on the team was enjoyable," said Singh, who won the foil championship at the state prep tournament. "Being with the club is all individual. I liked having the other people on the team support me. But there was still some pressure because I was expected to win. I ended up doing well."
That she did well would be an understatement. Singh not only won every one of her matches, she was only challenged in a handful of those. She joined Cimmaron Sharon and Debra Chuang in giving the Raiders one of the top foil squads in the state.
Ambika Singh is the Princeton Packet Girls’ Fencer of the Year.
"If she keeps this excellence up, she has a great future ahead of her," Gonzalez said. "She’s not invincible. She could find herself in some tough bouts. If that happens, I hope I am there to tell her to keep her head up. My biggest fear is saying the wrong thing to someone who is being trained by someone else. I left her alone and when she needed me to I would make suggestions. I’d try to calm her down and give her some options.
"She’s the real deal. She’s already something special."
Although she is just a freshman, Singh has more experience than many of the fencers she faces in high school. She got an early start in the sport, and after an up and down start, has become one of the top fencers in the state.
"I started when I was 8 or 9," Singh said. "It was a new thing to try. At that time I was trying a lot of different sports and my main sport back then was basketball. I was going to play basketball this year (at Hun), but it’s the same season as fencing. So I had to quit basketball and stay with fencing.
"At first I was not interested in (fencing) at all. For the first two years I did it I wasn’t that interested. Then I started to get better and I switched clubs to Fencing Academy of South Jersey and I got dramatically better. I started to love it and I still like it a lot."
The move to the South Jersey Fencing Academy paid off for Singh. She continued to improve, heading to practice for the long drive to Cherry Hill three times a week.
About two years ago is when everything started to click for Singh, who performance level has improved dramatically.
"Before, I didn’t take it as seriously," Singh said. "Then I realized I could be good at it and I started to do well. When I was 12, I was going to stop because I wasn’t excelling. But when I switched clubs I got dramatically better.
"The year I was not getting any better, I never thought I would be where I am right now. But now I realize how much better I’ve gotten. My coach, Mr. Ma, is one of the best in the country. He was on the Chinese Olympic team."
Singh has been making strides herself. She recently placed third at the Under-20 Junior Olympics, where she finished fifth in the Under-17 Division the same weekend in Denver. This summer she’ll compete in nationals in Miami, and also has a big meet coming up in Tucson, Ariz. Internationally, she recently went to her second competition, this one in Slovakia.
"I fence all year round because I am at the level now where for national and international tournament I have to travel a lot," she said.
As exciting as it can be to compete in tournaments at the national and international level, Singh had a great time being part of the Hun team. It gives her a different perspective on the competition.
"I really enjoyed being on the team," she said. "They really supported me and a lot of them looked up to me even though I was a freshman. I made a lot of friends. The girls on the foil team, we all had a lot of fun together. And the rest of the team, too.
"We’re not a sport that everyone knows about like basketball or football. But it’s growing so much. If you see the top fencers at the national level and you see them fence, it looks very intense. It’s a fun sport. It’s growing fast."
Singh has continued to get better the last few years and this year was no exception. She’s already made an impact at Hun, where she figures to keep getting better in the next three years.
"She is very coachable," Gonzalez said. "She had some difficulties in a couple of bouts, one in the states and one in the regular season. One was a match against a lefty and I called a timeout and made a couple of suggestions. She adjusted and was able to win the match. In the state match, she was behind, 4-3, in the bout against Oak Knoll. The other girl called time out. We talked, I made a few suggestions, Ambika just smiled, put her mask back on, went out and beat her.
"She is the kind of kid that you can make a suggestion and she’ll do it right. Mr. Ma has done a very good job with her. It was just a matter of seeing how it would translate to high school. She’s never had the pressure of having the team to focus on. She really seemed to enjoy being part of the team."
Singh looks like she’ll be the latest in the long line of talented fencers to come through Hun following in the footsteps of the likes if Franziska Albers, Sara Gonzalez and Polo Wagner.
"I’ve been lucky to have so many like that come through. We’ve had Franziska, Sarah, and before that, Polo Wagner. She has a lot of talent. What’s interesting is that two of the three girls that could have beaten her this year were seniors. I don’t see anyone who can beat her unless someone develops quickly."
No matter what, it will be hard to top this past season, where Singh never lost a match.
"Everything she entered, she won," Gonzalez said.
Singh helped the Raiders to a third place finish in the foil at the Santelli championships, while also helping the team to a third place overall finish at the state prep tournament.
If she continues to improve, Singh could be the latest Raider to make an impact at the college level.
"She has the talent to do it," Gonzalez said. "We’ve had a number of good fencers who have gone on to college and she should be able to do that. She’s very focused on trying to improve. As good as she is, she is always willing to listen and do whatever she can to get better. That’s something the college coaches notice. She’s been a great person to have on our team this year."

