Soph gains experience in sabre
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Jennifer Ling didn’t take long to develop into a good fencer.
It’s a good thing, because the West Windsor-Plainsboro South sophomore admits that she’s not one to wait.
”I’m very impatient,” Ling said.
That impatience steered her from foil, which she began with in October, 2011, to sabre a month later. Her mother was discussing the different weapons with the club coach and felt Jennifer was better suited to the sabre.
”He was saying, sabre is fast paced, you have to be quick thinking, you’re not patient, it’s like the person is like in a rage,” Ling said. “My mom said, ‘That’s Jennifer.’”
Ling broke into the varsity lineup as a freshman after only a couple of months of fencing, and this year she’s earned the B strip for the Pirate girls sabre squad.
”This year, I guess it’s more intense for me,” Ling said. “Last year, I just started fencing. It was a new experience for me in the beginning. This year, I know what’s going on. There’s definitely some more strategy behind it that I know now.”
Ling is still learning plenty. She’s been forced to fence on the A strip with Dana Kong out with pneumonia early, missing the Santelli Relay Championships due to a conflict with a North America Cup event, and then suffering a sprained ankle that cost her last week.
”It’s definitely given me more experience,” Ling said. “I think it’s good for me, but I would definitely like it if she came back.”
Ling went 3-0 in sabre to help the Pirates top Princeton Day School, 18-9. The sabre was dominant as Roxana Mitrut also went 3-0 while moving up from the C to the B strip and normal alternate, Mahima Sukumar, went 2-1. In foil, Kristen Kemnitzer and Cathy Chi were each 3-0 while Melissa Mischell was 2-1. Adreinne Cardulla and Rachel Landingin each won one bout for the inexperienced epee squad.
”I know it’s pretty good with our sabre and foil,” Ling said. “Our epee squad needs a little work. Our epee is fairly new. Most of our teammates on epee don’t know how to fence yet.”
Ling felt like that a year ago, in her first year of fencing. It was tough being thrown into the varsity mix early, but it has benefited her.
”During my first year, I thought it w as hard,” Ling said. “All the fencers I were fencing were better than me because I didn’t take that much training. I was frustrated. Now my opponents in high school, they’re my opponents outside of school, and I know them better.
”I’m definitely more committed to it,” she added. “I went to the last two NACs. The December and January ones, I didn’t go to because I said I need more practice before going to a national competition again.”
The work that Ling has put in outside of school with her club team has shown. She’s become a reliable fencer for the Pirates in her second season.
”She’s really great,” said Pirates head coach Ed Chang. “She’s been doing really well at the regular meets. Santelli, she had to face some tough opponents. She still did a really good job. It’s a team effort at that point. We still need to solidify the rest of the team.
”Jennifer has come a long way. She was in the lineup last year as a freshman. The first time she touched a sabre was October of that year. Now she’s C rated nationally. She’s a national level competitor. She’s come a really long way. That’s very fast.”
Ling wouldn’t have it any other way. She has always been involved in athletics, and was looking for something new when she started high school. She’d gotten an idea of what was offered at WW-P North from her brother.
”When I first wanted to join the fencing team, I was an ice skater before,” Ling said. “I needed a different sport, and I wanted something different. I thought sword fighting would be unique.”
Her parents feared a dangerous fall on the ice, and they’ve embraced Ling’s selection of fencing. They have supported her as she’s poured herself into the sport of fencing and seen rapid development.
”I’ve been putting a lot more work into fencing,” Ling said. “I’ve been going to club five times a week. I used to do other sports. Some of my other experiences from other sports, like ice skating, helped me too.
”There’s some more things I can improve on,” she added. “The people out there have different fencing styles, and I need to know how to change.”
Ling gains experience with every bout. With her improvements has come increased confidence, something that’s been useful without Kong around to lead the squad. Even though it’s years ahead of when she’d expect it, Ling has had to step forward for her sabre squad.
”I’m taking leadership,” Ling said. “I’m technically not captain, or supposed to be A, but I have to take the role of leadership and help my squad when they need it.
”My teammate, Roxi, she’s been doing really well this season. During Santelli’s, I think she dropped one bout. I was proud of her. She had to step down and help the team win some bouts.”
The Pirates are gearing up for a big week that includes sister school West Windsor-Plainsboro North on Friday and then the district tournament Sunday.
”I definitely think we can probably do pretty good,” Ling said. “If Dana is there, that’d be awesome. If Dana isn’t, I’m fine with Roxi and Mahima. We could probably pull off districts in a good position.”
The season began with high hopes for the sabre squad, even though it’s not that old. Kong is only a junior and Ling is just a sophomore, while Mitrut is quite reliable on the C strip.
”We put her at C strip at Santelli,” Chang said. “We knew she would do well. She went undefeated in the afternoon in the pool. She’s a solid fencer. She doesn’t have the same kind of training as the other fencers. We want to solidify it all.
”We’re seeing progress,” he said. “We really need to work hard on girls epee. That’s going to be the focus the rest of the season and into next season. Everybody is working hard. The two squads are holding up their end. There are some components we can solidify and strengthen, but we don’t need to make any big changes.”
The faster the Pirates can solidify things, the better off they will be. After all, patience is not in the make-up of Jennifer Ling and the WW-P South sabre squad.