Altman, One of Mamaroneck's Up and Coming Fencers

When Lila Altman came to Mamaroneck fencing coach Calvin Schlick as a freshman, Schlick advised her against coming out for the team.

Altman was already involved in singing, ballet, orchestra and tutoring, and Schlick was worried that there wouldn't be enough time left to become a great fencer.

"I saw the talent was there," Schlick said. "I wasn't trying to discourage her, but she already had tons of things to do."

But Altman joined the team anyway, bringing that same intensity to her new activity, and by sophomore year she never missed a practice. Now a junior, Altman won 65 percent of her matches this season.

"It's a very rewarding experience," Altman said. "Winning feels really awesome because fencing takes a lot of focus and endurance, so to be able to get a victory is really rewarding overall. Also, it's a really fun sport because there's some pretty interesting people you get to meet from other schools."

And Schlick was right about the time commitment.

"I missed most of the practices [freshman year[, but now I take it really seriously, so I got a lot out of it," Altman said.

Both the boys and girls teams finished with a 3-9 record this season, but Altman is one of many promising members of the junior class who Schlick thought could possibly compete in college.

"From a won-loss point of view it wasn't good," Schlick said of the season, which ended last week. "But there were a couple of kids who continued to blossom."

The promising juniors on the boys' side include twins Jackson and Jonathan Abney-McGinnis and Adam Zable.

"These kids have that ability and eye-hand-foot coordination, all-around good balance and excellent sense of distance," Schlick said.

Jackson (epee) and Jonathan (saber) are both physical fencers with good neurological makeup.

"They react well," Schlick said. "I'm asking them to make a decision in a nanosecond, and it's highly dependent on what that fencer does. In fencing you have to make that split-second decision based on what you see, not what you want your opponent to do."

The talented junior class could have Mamaroneck back on top next year.

"You go in cycles," Schlick said.