Cougars set for district tournament
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Sahib Singh enjoys hip-hop dancing when he’s not busy with school, Boy Scouts or fencing commitments.
Once the Montgomery High School senior’s final winter season ends with the boys fencing team, he intends to get back into competitive dancing. For now, it’s helping his top sport.
”It helps a lot with balance,” Singh said. “I know my coach loves to talk about balance. Dancing helps with that and being able to stay on your feet and know where your weight is and how you want to shift it.”
Singh is off to a good start, and he figures to be dancing for joy if he and the Cougars can place well enough to advance out of the District 2 tournament Saturday. Singh, Brennan Casey and Alec Grant are all seniors on the epee squad, and they’ve been fencing together for three years.
”We’ve known each other for such a long time,” Singh said. “To be able to grow with each other has been great. Sophomore year, we were saying, we still have two years left. Then last year, we were like we still have a year. Then this is our last hurrah. We have to show we’re one of the top squads in the state.
”We made it to squad championships last year, but we didn’t do too hot. So we’re ready to go back there and show everyone we’re a force to be reckoned with.”
The first challenge will be getting out of the district. The top four squads advance to the squad championships, the top four teams advance to the state tournament’s final 16, and the top four individuals in each weapon move on to the Tournament of Champions.
”We’re ranked and we’re doing well, but if we have an off day a little bit, we may not even qualify for the state tournament,” said MHS boys coach Tim Sullivan. “Saturday is the Super Bowl for the fencing teams in the area. Everything is decided on Jan. 31. It’s going to be tough for teams to move on.”
The state added a fifth district this year, but in reshuffling some teams around, it created a monster District 2 lineup.
”It’s hard, especially for epee, which is my squad,” Singh said. “Of the top six squads in the state, five are in our district. For an epee squad that usually comes out ahead, it’s going to be difficult to maintain our composure.”
The Cougars were scheduled for a tough tune-up on Thursday with Bernards, one of the new teams in their district along with Ridge, a team that handily defeated MHS earlier this season. Singh missed that match.
”We’ve been fencing pretty well as a team,” Singh said. “Within our foil and saber and even epee, we’ve had inconsistency. We should have taken bouts here and there. You get down to 4-4 and kids lose it. You have to make sure you are mentally good. Consistency is something we need to work on as a team.”
The Cougars know that they will need to be especially consistent Saturday. It’s an unrelenting district and not enough spots for some very good fencers.
”In our district, it’s out of control,” Sullivan said. “Only four individuals move on, not five this year. There are going to be so many phenomenal fencers that don’t move on.”
Singh is hoping to use his experience to advance.
”The difference is the people who are able to adapt to the different styles,” Singh said. “Some people fall in a rut. If you can figure out what your opponent is doing and adjust to that, then you already have the upper hand.
”It’s really stressful,” he added. “Especially because you’re fencing five-point bouts. In national tournaments, the most important bouts are 15 touches. In five-point bouts, every point matters so much. You have to fence really carefully and think through every action. You have to be scrutinous with every movement.”
Singh started fencing before his eighth grade year, and for the last three years he has been fencing at Medeo Fencing, where many of the state’s top epeeists train. He has done so while balancing his schoolwork and completing his Eagle Scout rank. His Eagle Scout project — a meditation garden — was opened across from high school in the fall. This winter, fencing has been his focus.
”I’ve been happy with my own fencing,” Singh said. “We haven’t faced a lot of the top epee squads. We did fence Ridge, but I wasn’t able to go to that meet. I haven’t been able to test myself against the top kids. I’ll have to see how that works out when we go to district where there will be a ton of good epee squads.”
He has been focusing to improve his own fencing while putting together a 9-3 individual record in the regular season. The Cougars are 7-1 after beating Somerville, 16-11, last Thursday.
”Something I’ve been looking to improve, even with the squad in general is distance and timing,” Singh said. “People tend to focus on actions. They think if they do these powerful actions, they can power through anybody. Going back to classical fencing, looking at the timing is something that’s important but something that’s often overlooked.”
The Cougars are hoping that the veterans on their team can push them onward this season. There are still a lot of regular season matches left, but the districts is critical to extending the year for an experienced team.
”This is it,” Sullivan said. “Most of my team is seniors this year and there’s not much depth behind them. We just don’t a lot of the depth we’ve had in years past. We’re doing well. Our district is going to be out of control. There are six teams that should make the state playoffs, and only four make it.”
Epee has been the strongest of Montgomery’s squads this year, and with three seniors in their final district tournament, they have all the motivation they need. It won’t be it for fencing for Singh, who is headed to Johns Hopkins University to continue his career.
”They have a really good and really young team right now,” Singh said. “One of their star fencers is graduating early. I think there’s a lot of opportunity to make an impact early. I’ve seen some of them fence and I’ll see how they’ve improved and that’ll show where I stand going into that team.”
His first priority is to help the Montgomery boys team as much as possible, and to try to qualify as an individual, a squad and a team.
”I think the overall Montgomery team can take it, and should take it,” Singh said. “I think it depends how much time we put in. Our saber and foil have been drooping a bit since Cetrulo. As long as we regain form, we should definitely make it in as one of the top 16 teams.”
And that would have all the Cougars dancing.