PDS’ Krywopusk closed career on high note
By: Justin Feil
Nick Krywopusk felt like he had a big advantage in being left-handed when he started fencing in 2001 at the Bucks County Academy of Fencing.
That edge certainly didn’t show right away.
"The first tournament I went to was about a year after I started. I got crushed," he said. "I came in second to last. But I wanted to do it more. I trained for six months more before I went to another one."
Krywopusk was able to use his uniqueness to his advantage in early competitions after that, but it is his overall skill that has helped him climb to the level he is at five and a half years after he began. Krywopusk this year achieved A level in epee, and he did so against fencers accustomed to winning just as regularly against other left-handers.
"That advantage," Krywopusk said, "has diminished significantly as I’ve moved up.
The Princeton Day School senior has shown steady improvement each year that he has fenced, even as he switched weapons from foil to epee two years ago. Last year he put together a solid season that ended when he lost in the state final in a fence-off.
"Last year was a good year too," Krywopusk said. "It was the first year I had fenced epee in high school. I thought I did pretty well. This year, I did even better."
Krywopusk was the leader for a Panther epee squad that finished second in the state championships. PDS finished third overall as a team. But no one finished better than Krywopusk, who was flawless in the state championships to capture his first state high school epee title. It capped a 31-2 season and quite a career at PDS.
Nick Krywopusk is the Princeton Packet Boys’ Fencer of the Year.
"He was 31-2 which is the best record he has had," said PDS head coach Paul Epply-Schmidt. "I think it’s the best record any fencer has had in my long sojourn. I think a lot of that is due to his commitment at Bucks County Academy of Fencing. It’s crucial (to fence year-round). I doubt there are any good fencers that do it just in season. They go out and compete in the national circuit events.
"He’s really concentrated more on epee in the past couple years. Along with that, his experience has increased his confidence a lot."
Krywopusk certainly had every reason to feel confident coming into this season. He had well over 20 wins as a junior. But epee is a sport that rewards a fencer’s first touch of his opponent, anywhere on the body, unlike the foil in which fencers are awarded points only for touches to the torso and only to the fencer who makes an attack or defends one successfully.
"Somehow the speed helped me initially in epee," Krywopusk said. "I had to learn to adjust to the timing. Actions that I was doing before, other epeeists went around and hit me first. When you’re fencing foil, I would have had the right of way. It was a time and distance change for me."
Krywopusk did not take long to adjust. Even still, learning to win in such dominant fashion as Krywopusk did this year is not easy.
"In epee, you just need a stray touch here and there," Epply-Schmidt said. "One slight misjudgment and that can turn things."
Krywopusk kept his focus all season on fencing just for the next point. It helped keep him focused. And that singular focus helped him have the success that was anticipated.
"I think I was expected to win by other people," Krywopusk said. "It’s always a mistake, especially in epee, to take anything for granted.
"All the other fencers are training and working hard too," he added. "They saw me last year. They fenced me, maybe they remember what I do. It’s also based on the style you fence. Everybody fences differently. Some may fence an offensive game, some may be defensive. There’s not one method that works for everybody. That’s part of getting better learning to change your game."
Krywopusk noticed a greater ability to do that in himself this year. And he noticed a difference in how he handled his high school fencing this year. He found he was better able to figure out opponents’ weaknesses and had the tools to exploit them. It led him all the way to a gold medal at states.
"That’s a major accomplishment," said the Richboro, Pa. resident. "I saw a change in how I fence other people. Some people that were very difficult before are less difficult now. I notice my speed getting faster. I try to work on my tactics. So I’m pleased with my results whenever I can pull off an action I couldn’t do last year."
Krywopusk credits a bevy of coaches for his development. In addition to Epply-Schmidt, he is tutored by Mark Holbrow, who runs the Bucks County Academy of Fencing, Bucks epee coach James Flint and Krywopusk’s personal coach, Dirk Goldgar.
"I seriously doubt I could have improved without the patience of my coaches," said Krywopusk, who admits to being stubborn at times. "Some moves, they don’t come naturally, and it can take me a while to work all the kinks out."
There was little wrong with Krywopusk’s fencing this season, his fourth with the Panthers. He leaves having done his best to raise the level of those around him. It was an enjoyable career at PDS.
"It’s good to work on the team," he said. "I liked helping out the other fencers and training them a little bit. It was also good to watch them to help improve my coaching and understand better when my coaches are yelling at me to do something from the sidelines.
"The coaches are trying to teach you to recognize things by yourself. Recognize your opponent, understand your opponent and beat your opponent on your own. The good thing with a coach that works with you a lot, or a team that works with you a lot, is they get to see what you do wrong a lot. Working with people like that, you get to improve yourself a lot."
Krywopusk says it can be hard to self-diagnose when a fencer is so wrapped up in his match. And few were more focused on winning than Krywopusk was. It helped him win in every manner.
"He wins handily, but he also wins in tight matches," Epply-Schmidt said. "He ratchets it up a level in the tight ones. Like a lot of people that do well, he loves to do well, but he hates to lose.
"You can see the economy of his movement. When he lunges, he hits. The intentionally of what he’s doing is clear. It’s clear he has a strategy and does it."
That strategic aspect of his fencing has grown tremendously since he took up fencing as a hobby in 2001. Initially, he had an advantage in fencing left-handed.
Now, at a higher level, his advantage is his experience and work ethic. They have put him in position for his next step, fencing collegiately. Krywopusk is waiting to hear back from several schools, all of which have fencing programs and any that would benefit from getting one of the most talented Panther fencers ever.
"Any strong school, he would thrive," Epply-Schmidt said. "I think he’d be a solid collegiate fencer early, and with more time and training, he could do quite well nationally.
"He’s certainly in the handful of the elite we’ve had. I came in 1989. I think the program was there for six years before me. He’s certainly up there."

