Experienced Weller tops for Hun fencing

Junior part of talented sabre squad

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
It didn’t take long for Teddy Weller to discover his gift.
   ”When I was in fifth grade, I was still playing ice hockey,” said the Hun School junior. “I decided I was better at fencing than ice hockey. I switched over in sixth grade.”
   Weller began fencing in foil, but three months later at the urging of his coach, he switched to sabre. He has become one of the top sabre fencers in the state. Last year, he finished second in the weapon at the prep championships.
   ”I was definitely happy,” said Weller, who lives in Providence, R.I. “The guy I lost to, Marty Williams, he was No. 4 in Under-17 in the U.S. He was very difficult to fence. I was happy to finish second. I’m going to hope to win this year. He’s a senior at St. Benedict’s.”
   Weller is preparing for what is a much-anticipated showdown at the end of the season with the Raiders’ regular-season schedule. He has lost just once on the year, and went 2-1 in sabre as the Hun boys lost to Hunterdon Central, 17-10, Wednesday. The sabre team was 6-3 on the day.
 ”We have one kid, John Park, from Seoul, Korea,” Weller said. “He’s a junior and we also have Darrell Washington. He’s a junior. It’s been the three of us the last couple of years.”
   The sabre squad is the strength of the Hun boys’ team. The epee squad lost, 5-4, to Hunterdon Central while the foil squad did not win a bout. On the girls’ side, Hun was a 14-13 winner as Betty Hsu won it in overtime in the final bout of the match.
   ”That was the most exciting thing you ever saw,” said Hun coach Rey Gonzalez. “It went to the last bout. Betty was fencing and they went to overtime and she beat the girl. She changed her attack at the last second. She caught her completely off guard and nailed her really good. It’s something to remember the rest of her life.”
   The Hun girls will compete in the Santelli Tournament on Jan. 5. The Raider boys return to action in the Cetrulo Tournament on Jan. 6. It’s a chance to show just how talented the sabre squad is for the boys.
   ”We have a very strong sabre team,” Weller said. “We also have a good epee team. Our foil team is a little weak, but we lost three seniors from last year.”
   The Raider boys don’t have a senior on their team this year, but their expectations still run high. Weller is looking for a top-8, perhaps even as high as a top-4, finish at the Cetrulo Tournament. With several international students unavailable for the Cetrulo tournament, the end of the season remains the big goal.
   ”We’re just hoping we can maybe win prep states,” Weller said. “If not this year, maybe next year.”
   Weller certainly gives the Raiders a strong building block. He has been fencing on the A strip since his freshman year. Since coming to Hun, Weller has been fencing year-round under the direction of Marcos Lucchetti at the Princeton YMCA. Lucchetti competed in the 1980 Olympics and has produced national and world champions.
   ”He has worked out perfectly,” Weller said. “He’s a good coach and he’s nearby where I live. I fence with him about four or five times per week.”
   Outside of school, Weller is a busy traveler in order to compete against the best. Three weeks ago, he was in Italy for the Under-20 World Cup, where he finished 65th against the top junior fencers in the world. He has been to Spain and the Ukraine for competitions in the past two years and was in Dallas a month ago.
   ”It’s different,” Weller said, “but I feel those competitions help me prepare for my high school competition. The more fencing I do, the more experience I get. The experience always helps.
   ”In my high school fencing, I’ve improved a lot. Mr. Gonzalez and I have talked about it just the other day. Just the maturity I have when I’m fencing. If I’m losing, 3-0 or 3-1, I’m able to sit back and refocus and start over instead of doing the same things that are causing me to lose.”
   There are few that have as much experience to rely on as Weller does. He started fencing in fifth grade, and knew about fencing even before then because of an uncle who fenced collegiately. Weller’s experience is bolstered by his approach to the sport.
   ”He’s very, very solid,” Gonzalez said. “He’s hard working.”
   Weller never has to look far for strong competition. Hun’s practices give him plenty of opportunity to take on solid sabre fencers.

   ”It definitely helps,” Weller said. “We have lot of other sabre fencers who we don’t even have room to fence. We have a strong JV sabre team. They could fence varsity for most teams.”
   The sabre team has been solid as the Raider boys have started 1-2 this season. Its lone losses have come to public schools Governor Livingston and Hunterdon Central. The Raiders defeated Princeton Day School in their season opener.
   ”I thought we did very well against PDS,” Weller said. “We started very well. It is very important to beat them because we have to fence them again in prep states. We had two losses against Governor Livingston and Hunterdon Central. They’re both very strong teams. I think we did well. I think we can beat the teams we’ll have to beat for the prep states.”
   The Raiders have seen some encouraging signs in their start. And they should be able to give Weller and the sabre squad some more help by the end of the season as the less experienced fencers develop.
   ”I’m very pleased,” Gonzalez said. “I have to work with the foil team. It’s young. Hopefully by the time states come around, we’ll have them working well. The sabre and epee teams are very solid.
   ”Each squad has something to build on,” he added. “The sabre squad is something to build around for the boys. The epee team is young, but is good. The boys’ team has no seniors in it. It’s very good.”