In an close competition, fencing team lost against Don Bosco Thursday because fencers could not clinch tied bouts.
There were five instances in foil and epee where time had run out and the score was tied in which case there was a sudden death situation where the next fencer to score a touch would win the bout. Don Bosco won four of these bouts to Ramapo's one. In other words, there were four bouts where one touch would have won the meet for us but Ramapo was unable to score.
Ramapo sabreists went 8-1 to deliver a strong lead in every round. Charles Copti went 3-0 but with the first instance this season where he let an opponent score four touches. He finally went into high gear to clinch the bout to preserve his undefeated record in dual meets at 20-0. Charles heads to Portland, Oregon tomorrow to fence in the junior and senior divisions of the North America Cup. Josh Chang fenced terrifically, winning all three of his bouts by scores of 5-1, 5-1, and 5-2. Josh, at 18-1. Chang holds the second best record on the team. Alex Gorloff entered the lineup in the second round and although he had to fight for a victory in two 4-4 bouts he succeeded in winning both bouts, a major contribution to the Team’s score. Alex now has a 10-1 record.
The epee squad produced a 3-6 record as none of our fencers could beat Don Bosco’s epee star, Steven Dazo. Sam Judd came closest, losing a hard fought 4-4 bout when Dazo scored the last touch with a long attack. Judd produced two of the epee squad’s victories and Michael Daly produced the third one. Scott Zellers, who missed the Cetrulo because of bronchitis and Anthony Sclafani who had to withdraw from Cetrulo with an injury, tried hard to help the team but neither one was at their best and they were unsuccessful.
Foilists fought hard but were able to produce only a 2-7 record. Tanner Frank and Tyler Clarke each won one bout but we were not able to win any bouts on the C-strip.
Ramapo's next fencing meet is at 4 p.m. Thursday, January 9, home against Pompton Lakes.
Editor's note: Paul Apostol is the coach of the boys fencing team at Ramapo High School.
