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WEST WINDSOR: Huang makes most of chance

Senior helps Knight sabre squad to third at Santelli

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   Constance Huang isn’t sure how many more chances she will have to fence for the West Windsor-Plainsboro High North girls team, but she made the most of her biggest chance.
   The Knights senior combined with Elysia Wang and Katie Khaw to finish third in the sabre at the Santelli Tournament on Sunday.
   ”It felt really good,” Huang said. “I was really nervous about stepping up. I had to take the B strip. Our last fencer there, she graduated and they were big shoes to fill. I was nervous about dragging them down. I knew the other two were very capable of going all the way.”
   Wang and Khaw had been a part of the sabre squad that was third last year as well, but in place of Emily Wu and Kristina Leung, who shared in last year’s win, was Huang.
   ”It really was a surprise,” said Knights head coach Gail Kedoin, whose team went on to defeat Hun in a regular-season match Tuesday. “They’re trying to put things together and have a solid squad for states, so this really helps with confidence.”
   Montgomery High placed the highest overall among Packet-area teams in the team standings, sixth. The Cougars were fifth in epee, 10th in sabre and 11th in foil. West Windsor-Plainsboro South was 12th. The Pirates were ninth in foil, 17th in sabre and 27th in epee. Hun was 22nd. The Raiders took seventh in epee, 35th in sabre and 36th in foil. The Knights were 24th overall after taking 34th in epee and 43rd in foil. Princeton Day School was 44th with epee being their top squad in 37th. The Knights have plenty of sabre fencers with about the same ability as Huang vying for the third and final spot on their squad, and Huang wasn’t confident she’d even have a chance to compete at the Santelli.
   ”If I’m honest, I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to be picked,” Huang said. “She announced it right before, and I was pretty sure I wasn’t going.”
   Huang rewarded her coach’s confidence in a senior who had shown perseverance throughout her career. Huang tried out as an epee in her freshman year, but didn’t make the team.
   ”I tried to go out and get some lessons,” Huang said. “I went to the Princeton YMCA and took epee lessons. I even did summer lessons. When I tried out sophomore year, she put me on the sabre squad.”
   The sabre is a less patient weapon than epee, with attacks coming more frequently and more movement than epee, but ultimately Huang had to show patience to make an impact at the varsity level. She got spot duty in her first two years with the weapon.
   ”I was on JV, but the coach would do her best to sub us in as best she could,” Huang said. “I did get quite a few bouts during sophomore and junior year. It was nice coming in this year and not being completely shocked by the whole thing. I knew sort of what it was like.”
   She hadn’t fenced on anything of the level of Santelli, however, and it was a big spot for her. Wang and Khaw had been through it and plenty of big matches in club fencing.
   ”There’s a little more pressure there knowing your teammates are relying on you,” Huang said. “At the same time, I try to use it. I was scared to death (of the competition), but I was more worried about letting the other two down. They’re incredible fencers and they deserved to medal. I just didn’t want to bring them down.”
   The Knights got off to a fast start in their opening pool to qualify for the finals, where they placed third.
   ”Constance did wonderfully,” Kedoin said. “I know in the first pool, we were 19-2. Constance lost just one bout in the first round. She was 6-1.”
   Getting through the first pool well was an important part of Huang’s day. It helped her pick up steam for the finals.
   ”We were feeling really good coming out of it,” Huang said. “At the same time, we were never going to underestimate the other teams. We weren’t going to take advantage of the fact we came out of the first pool doing well.
   ”It gained a lot of experience just from that first pool, but I was still aware of what I had to work on. I did feel good coming out of it knowing I had some wins. At the same time, I knew I still had stuff to work on.”
   Huang isn’t alone among WW-P North fencers in having areas to improve. The epee and foil squads lost a lot of their experience from last year. The Knights have lost half of their starters overall from a year ago, but have managed to go 4-1.
   ”Even all the new girls, they’re really coming along and really progressing,” Kedoin said. “Right now the team is 4-1, so we’re happy. Foil and epee, since they are so weak, I had two girls share each slot (at Santelli). Everyone was there to get experience. By the end of the day, you can see how much they’ve all improved.”
   Huang feels she is improving every day thanks to some great help at the top from the Knights’ most experienced sabre fencers, Wang and Khaw.
   ”They’re really helpful,” Huang said. “We fence every day in practice. Learning from them, it gives me a lot more confidence, learning from them and having them critique me. They’re always there to help me out. I really appreciate it.”
   The sabre squad was 9-0 against Hun, with Khaw and Wang going 3-0 each and Huang 2-0 and Celine Demorre 1-0. The foil was 6-3, with Janet Fan going 2-0, and Katrina Beske, Kaimeng Cao and Khyati Lad all 1-0. Arthi Sundararajan was 1-1. Epee won four bouts. Claudia Wai was 2-0 and Madison Hughes was 1-0. Tanvee Varma picked up the other win.
   ”I’m happy with where we are,” Huang said. “We’ve had a great start, but we have a long way to go from here. We have districts and some pretty good competitors coming up. We have to keep getting ready for those.”
   A medal at the Santelli tournament is a big boost for the sabre squad and Constance Huang as she looks to finish her final season with the Knights strong.”It was definitely a highlight of my high school career,” she said. “I could be completely happy going from here on, but I’ll keep working. It’s just the beginning and I can’t slack off now.”