It was a split decision at home for the West Essex boys and girls fencing teams Tuesday as the girls were winners in a close match, but the boys were beaten by Montclair Kimberly Academy.
The girls, who boasted a win for almost every starter, held off MKA 15-12. The girls said they used last year’s win over MKA to motivate themselves to victory this year.
“Since we’ve beaten them before, we had confidence coming into the match,” said foil Katie Minden. “There’s really no excuse for losing to a team you know you can beat.”
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Fencing captain Devon Gardner agreed, saying she felt the girls’ positivity was a major factor in the win.
“The girls seemed really focused today. We were unified, which resulted in great performance,” she said.
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For the boys, lead by captain Brett Balter, the team fell to MKA 21-6.
“We were expecting to do well against MKA, but unfortunately some of our starters weren’t able to be here,” Balter said.
He said the team felt the absence of teammates Mike Yang, Brennan Lee and Matt Sigler, all of whom have exhibited leadership on the fencing piste this season for the Knights.
“This year, the team doesn’t have a ton of experience, but we’ve been making great progress,” said Balter. “As a new team, we can only hope to keep growing.”
Coaches Mike Still and John Scazzaro appreciate the yearly West Essex/MKA contest.
“MKA is always a nice school to fence, because our teams are on par with one another,” Still said. “It’s always a very friendly, but competitive event.”
West Essex’s next match will be against Butler at 5 p.m. Thursday, also at home. It is the last match of the season.
