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WEST WINDSOR: Athlete of the Week

WW-P North fencer Paturu no longer an unknown

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   Last year ended with Mounica Paturu advancing to the girls fencing Tournament of Champions last year by placing third at the District 2 meet.
   ”People knew who was going to make it,” Paturu recalled. “They were saying, ‘Who is she, where did she come from?’”
   They will know now. Paturu, now a senior at West Windsor-Plainsboro North has come as far as anyone in barely two years. She didn’t even fence as a freshman.
   ”I did not even know about fencing,” Paturu said. “I saw it in movies. I remember seeing it in ‘Parent Trap.’ Some of my friends tried out freshman year. They said, ‘It’s fun, why don’t you try out?’ My goals got bigger and bigger.”
   In her first year fencing epee as a sophomore, Paturu was just an alternate in the Knights lineup. She went 4-8. Last year, however, she made a huge jump. She finished third in the districts and was named Most Valuable Player for the Knights, and WW-P North knew she was something special.
   ”She never gives up,” said Knights head coach Gail Kedoin. “She knows what she wants to do in a bout. She has some ideas about what she wants to try to do on a particular fencer. And if it doesn’t work, she picks that up and adjusts accordingly. That’s what makes a good fencer.
   ”You want to have a couple ideas of what you want to try. You don’t know what your opponent will do, but you have to have an idea of where you’re going to start. And then when you see what your opponent does, you can adjust to that. She never gives up, and she has confidence in herself.”
   Her confidence grew even more last week. She showed her mental toughness first last Friday. Paturu got sick before North’s match against rival WW-P South, but returned to win both of her bouts.
   ”I wanted to fence,” Paturu said. “I definitely wasn’t fencing as well as I could. I won and everyone did a nice job. South’s sabre is good, so our sabre held up well.”
   Two days later, Paturu was feeling fine for the District 2 championships. She lost only once in the morning team portion, 1-0 in overtime to defending individual champion Ting Liu of Montgomery High, as the Cougars edged WW-P North for the squad championship. Paturu returned in the afternoon’s individual portion and went unbeaten, avenging her loss to Liu by turning the tables in a 1-0 overtime win. The victory helped to propel her to the District 2 individual epee championship to close out a day that saw her help the Knights finish second overall and secure their first berth in the state tournament Sweet 16.
   Mounica Paturu is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
   ”I think it was incredible,” Paturu said. “More than winning first, I was excited to get the whole team to the Sweet 16. We were close to beating Montgomery. It was an eye opener to know how good we are. Going into districts, no one expected us to get second. We were so close. If we believed in ourselves a little more, we could have even came in first. I was really proud of how everyone fenced.”
   Paturu is just the second girl from WW-P North to win an individual district championship. Anjali Baliga won the district epee title in 2009, and went on to win the individual state title as well. Paturu’s biggest goal isn’t for herself.
   ”It’s definitely for our squad to get first,” she said. “There’s a lot of really good teams. If we practice and work hard we can definitely win. For Sweet 16, I think we can make top four, and maybe top two. We have to fence our best and know we can do our best.
   ”For individuals, I’m fencing so many of the people I know from my club. They’re all great fencers. With 5-touch bouts, it’s hard to know. It’s going to be who’s fencing best that day. I like pressure. I work better under pressure.”
   Paturu, who also fences for the Medeo Fencing Club, has made big strides in her fencing. She now carries a B rating on the national scene, and approaches meets quite differently from even a year ago.
   ”Last year, I went in to the district with no expectations,” Paturu said. “Getting third was a big surprise. I worked hard throughout the season, but I didn’t expect anything going in.
   ”This year, I fenced so much over summer, I went to NACs. I wanted to finish higher than third. I wanted to win. I thought I had a chance. I’d be fencing a few of my friends, but someone has to win and someone has to lose.”
   Paturu split with one of those friends, Liu, in two terrific bouts. In the team portion, Paturu was too defensive to beat Liu. Paturu learned her lesson and put it to use in the individual competition.
   ”The second time around, I really changed my game,” Paturu said. “It was almost the same thing — three minutes, no touches. Even though no one scored, it was clear I was dominating the moves. I was going at her and she was reacting. The second time around, I was expecting to win. The second time around, I played like I normally fence.”
   Topping Liu as well as Katherine Couch, another outstanding fencer and friend from Montgomery, early in the competition gave Paturu confidence and she closed out the round robin individuals unbeaten and left little doubt as to who was best that day. She won her final two bouts, 5-0.
   ”I took them all seriously,” Paturu said. “Normally I don’t know the results, but I knew what I had to do to win. I was pretty focused from the beginning to the end.”
   Kedoin had always believed that Paturu had the ability to win the district, but figured it hinged on her health. Only a month before, Kedoin was worried about her squad leader.
   ”In November, she pulled her hamstring before the season started,” Kedoin said. “She’s just coming back from a big hamstring injury. She’s working hard. For her to get back and be able to lunge, it’s incredible. She’s hardly been able to lunge in the last couple of months. In the last week or so, she’s able to lunge and move better. She’s a very determined individual based on her being able to win it.”
   Paturu is into her second semester of her senior year, but there’s no slacking off. She has returned to the strip determined to close her scholastic career strong before fencing in college.
   ”I noticed the first week already that her point control was much more precise and her determination was more direct this year,” Kedoin said. “She was definitely more focused and she wants to make the most out of her senior year.”
   With her first district championship won, Paturu’s year has promise. A relative unknown a year ago, Mounica Paturu will be a familiar face at the team and individual state tournaments ahead after developing into a high level fencer.
   ”I wish I started sooner,” Paturu said, “but I’m glad I came this far.”