Girls Fencing Team Shattering Expectations

In just four short years, the Half Hollow Hills girls fencing program has transformed from a simple after-school activity for its members, to a Suffolk County powerhouse.

“It was kind of a joke team,” said senior Renee Glasser, who has been on the team since her freshman year. “None of us knew how to fence, we all just did it as a joke and no one really cared.”

Glasser--who is now a captain--along with the rest of her teammates, knows that fencing is no longer a laughing matter.

“We’ve been working so hard not only during, but offseason too,” Glasser said. “The dedication and motivation has been so much better [since the first year].”

That extra effort is clearly reflected in the standings.

HHH (9-1) is currently tied for first place in Suffolk County with Ward Melville.

The nine victories this season are as many as the team had the previous three seasons combined.

“The first year we had one win, and the second and third we had four I believe,” said head coach Dennis Daly.

Daly, who started with the team during its inception as an advisor four years ago, took over the coaching duties following the first year.

“The first year obviously was a beginner team with low expectations,” Daly said. “The girls would come in and practice and after the season was over, they would go off and do other sports.”

Now, however, the girls are fully dedicated to fencing, and it’s that extra devotedness that Daly points at for the dramatic improvement.

“If there’s no dedication, and they just fence for the season three months of the year, there’s no chance they can progress,” said Daly. “The girls really made a conscious effort; now we’re truly developing athletes that have potential to fence in college.”

Because of the obscurity of the sport, coupled with the fact that this is still a fairly new program for HHH, it’s harder for the athletes and coaches to develop at the rate of other sports.

“In basketball, you have kids that have been playing since they were five or six,” Daly said. “They’ve all been developed and trained with the rules of the game. We get them in ninth grade and you’re first teaching fundamentals, when in other sports, they’ve been there for five years or so.”

Despite the lack of experience, Daly’s team is developing much quicker than he would have anticipated, which again, he credits to the girls’ outside effort.

“It really takes about five years to develop a high-quality team,” said Daly, who has now developed two programs.

Prior to joining on with HHH, Daly was the architect of the Garden City program, where he spent 14 years patrolling the sidelines.

“I give a lot of the credit to the athletes; they’ve really trained hard over the offseason,” declared Daly, who has seen his team shatter expectations.

“We were hoping to come into the season with a .500 or better record,” he said. “They’ve really done a great job and have fulfilled every expectation this year; it’s an amazing thing to see.”

Now, fully dedicated and a year ahead of schedule, Glasser has her sights set on a bigger prize.

“We put in so much effort and because of all the work we’ve put in, we have a really good shot at county.”

Before HHH has its opportunity in the county tournament, they must finish out the remaining four matches on the schedule, none bigger than the season finale—a rematch against No. 1 Ward Melville, on Monday, Feb. 7 at Hills East.

Stay tuned.