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03/12/2020 12:00 AMIt was a historic weekend for the Hand fencing program at the Team State Championships at Fitch High School on March 7. The boys’ team finished in first place overall to claim the first state title for fencing in school history. The girls’ team also had a great day by earning a second-place finish, which marked the best result at states in the history of the program.
The Hand boys edged out Guilford for the state title based on the cumulative performance of its foil, saber, and épée squads. A victory from the foil team played a huge part in the Tigers taking first place. Hand’s unit of seniors Michael Hilmer, Finnegan Byrne, Matthew Esposito, and junior Luke Newton had the top seed heading into the tournament, and the fencers demonstrated why they had earned it.
The foil team posted a 5-1 win versus Fitch in the first round and then defeated Fairfield Ludlowe 5-4 in its second matchup. Byrne notched a 5-4 victory for the Tigers in their deciding match against Fairfield. In the championship bout, Hand edged out Amity by a 5-4 score with Byrne again winning the deciding match, 5-4, to help the Tigers take home state gold.
“This was an amazing accomplishment for our program,” Head Coach Michael Ginsburg said. “The team stepped up when they needed to, and they were able to come away with their first fencing state title in school history. That’s pretty cool.”
The saber team also contributed to the Tigers’ title by finishing in fifth place. Hand’s quartet of juniors Daniel Ginsburg, Roland Calia-Bogan, and Cedar Lowry, and sophomore Max Wu took a 5-3 loss to Greenwich in their first match, then came back to defeat Fairfield (5-1) and Morgan (9-0). Ginsburg went undefeated for Hand with a record of 9-0 on the day.
The épée team of senior Evan Merenda, juniors Adam Leblanc and Quinn Johnnson, and sophomore Brian Girardi came in sixth place at states. The team lost a 5-0 match to Norwich Free Academy in the first round, rebounded with a 5-4 victory versus Guilford, and then took a 5-3 loss to Old Lyme.
In the end, Hand wound up winning the overall state title by one point over defending champion Guilford.
“It was as close as it could have been,” said Ginsburg. “These kids put in a lot of work, and a lot of these matches were nerve-wracking to watch, because of how close it was. I’m just so proud that we were able to come out and win a title. It was a great moment for Hand and our fencing team.”
The Tigers’ girls’ épée team of senior Ally Lesnik, juniors Sophie Glassman and Rebecca Cancelliere, and sophomore Natasha McCarthy finished in third place at the State Championships. The Tigers blanked Fairfield 5-0 in the first round, then dropped a 5-3 decision to Waterford. In the third-place match, Hand defeated Morgan by the final score of 5-1.
The saber team also put together a third-place performance. The group of seniors Natalie McCarthy and Maggie Lesnik, junior Hope Blundon, and sophomore Brigid O’Keefe earned a 5-4 win over Fairfield the first round. Blundon took the deciding bout with a 5-4 victory. After dropping a 5-3 decision to Guilford, Hand responded with a 5-1 victory over North Haven to solidify third place.
Senior Nikki Vaccaro, juniors Cameryn Brown and Brenna MacCallum, and sophomore Angela Zhang led the foil team to a fourth-place finish. They defeated Old Lyme 5-2 in the first round, then took a 5-2 loss to Waterford in their next contest. In the third-place match, the Tigers lost to Guilford by a 5-1 final.
Guilford won its sixth-straight state title on the girls’ side. Coach Ginsburg was proud of the Tigers for earning runner-up honors.
“The girls were equally as impressive as the boys for us, and I’m proud of both of our squads,” Ginsberg said. “We went out there and came really close with Guilford. They are a really talented school and have won this competition several years in a row, so we knew it would be tough, but we still went out and performed to the best of our abilities.”
The weekend before the Team State Championships, the Tigers fenced at the Individual State Championships on Feb. 29 and March 1. Brown won the gold medal in the girls’ foil competition for Hand. Vaccaro and Zhang finished in 44th and 45th place, respectively. In épée, Glassman took fourth place for the Tigers. Ally Lesnik finished 22nd and Natasha McCarthy came in 24th place. Maggie Lesnik finished 15th for saber, while O’Keefe took 18th place and Blundon finished 26th.
“Cameryn was the first female fencer for Hand to capture individual gold at the [Individual] State Championships,” Coach Ginsberg said. “That was an amazing feat for her and it gave us a lot of momentum going into the Team Championships.”
Hilmer took fifth place in the boys’ foil tournament. Byrne finished 15th, and Newton was 33rd. In saber, Ginsburg took ninth place, Wu placed 15th, and Calia-Bogan finished 32nd. For épée, Merenda finished 24th, Leblanc was 26th, and Girardi came in 34th place.