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03/13/2013 12:00 AMThe Indians' fencing squads took part in the Team State Championships on March 9 at North Haven, where the girls' épée finished second and the boys' foil finished sixth.
For the girls' épée, it dispatched rival North Haven 5-4 in the semifinals before losing the final bout to Hopkins 5-4 with Belinda Sam going 7-1 individuall. Boys' foil dropped a 5-4 decision to North Haven in the consolation bracket as it lost a bout to Morgan 5-3 before defeating Hopkins 5-1 to take sixth. Ben Baldwin was 5-4.
In addition, girls' foil finished third with Laurel Zhang earning a 5-2 record. The group earned wins over East Lyme (5-0) and Ledyard (5-0) to take the third spot. Boys' épée came in seventh via a 5-0 win over Fitch in the consolation round as Niall Kneerim held a 6-2 mark. The boys had losses to Norwich Free Academy (5-4) and Hopkins (5-4) before the win over Fitch that earned the seventh spot.
"The one thing they needed to do today was keep on fighting and they did that. With the format we use, every placing matters. I think we had a few tough draw, for the boys especially, despite our high seeding," said Coach Kyle Mezzi. "The field has gotten a lot deeper over the last couple years and, as evidence, in the boys' foil event, in which three of the top four seeds lost in the first round. I think this was a valuable learning experience for our whole team and I appreciate all their hard work throughout the season. We will miss the leadership and experience of our graduating seniors, but with all the youth and talent on our team, I am already looking forward to next year."
?John Lecardo