Fencers Finish 2nd in Championship

The following  Fencing report was submitted by Coach Paul Apostol:

Ramapo sabreists, seniors Charles Copti on the A-strip and Josh Chang on the B-strip along with sophomore Alex Gorloff on the C-strip were in the lead at the end of the 10th round of the 15 round championship.

Then disaster struck.

In his 10th round bout, Josh, had a violent crash of bells, which seriously jammed his thumb. He finished the bout with a win because he had been so far ahead before the crash, which gave him an 8-2 record. However, his injured thumb, which he had previously jammed in a competition a few weeks ago, was a major problem.

Josh elected to stay in the competition and try to continue fencing but it was evident that it his hand actions were so limited that he was unable to fence well when he lost his next two bouts.

Josh was withdrawn and replaced by freshman Adam Carcione who has been fencing on the C-strip this season.

Adam fought admirably against stronger opponents on the B-strip and managed a 2-2 record, which was a good result, but by this time, we were too far behind West Windsor South who edged us out by two victories.

Charles Copti and Alex Gorloff did outstanding jobs, each going 14-1. Had Josh not sustained his injury there is little doubt that Ramapo would have brought home the gold for the second year in row.

Epeeists, juniors Sam Judd and Scott Zellers and sophomore Michael Daly faced a very tough field where virtually all their opponents were seniors. Nevertheless, they achieved a 11th place finish, a good improvement over last season.

Scott Zellers on the B-strip gave a standout performance by going 11-4, tied for the best record among all the fencers on the B-strip.

Sam did a creditable job on the A-strip with 7 victories, given all the seniors he had to fence.

Michael, in his first experience with a major competition won some key bouts but gained some invaluable experience.

Foilists, juniors Tanner Frank on the A-strip and Tyler Clarke on the B-strip, as well as converted sabre fencer, Eric Yoon, on the C-strip, finished 12th, also a good improvement over last year’s finish. Tyler had the standout performance with an 8-7 record followed up by Eric who provided 6 wins, great for someone who picked up a foil for the first time only 3 weeks ago. Tanner fenced with determination and spirit but it was very difficult for him to gain traction against his older opponents.

The team owes big thank you to the scorekeepers, Gregg Duch in sabre, Nick Carpino in foil and Matt Martone in epee. They signed official score sheets, directed their squads to the appropriate strips, and each one of them needed to note all 450 touches made in their event.

Ramapo’s next competition is the State Individual Championship next Sunday, March 4, at Montgomery High School. Four of Ramapo’s fencers, Charles Copti, Josh Chang, Tyler Clarke and Sam Judd have qualified to fence in this event.

Prior Meets: Nyack 17-10(14-3), Wayne Hills 15-12(14-7), Teaneck 20-7(14-4), Mendham 11-16 (11-14), Gov. Livingston 12-14 (10-14), Fair Lawn 17-10(14-5), West Milford 20-7(14-3), Don Bosco 13-14(12-14), Pompton Lakes 14-8(14-4), Northern Highlands 17-10(14-6), Montclair 12-13(10-14), Bergen Tech 17-10(14-5), W. Milford 17-10(14-5), Fair Lawn 20-7(14-2).

Contact Coach Paul Apostol at 201-891-6208 or pdapostol@optonline.net

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