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04/19/2020 12:00 AMTen of the 12 members of this year’s North Branford fencing team were either juniors or seniors. Most of those athletes began fencing when they started high school. With a rise in experience and some veteran leadership, the Thunderbirds put together a season that saw them earn their fair share of victories both individually and as a team.
North Branford won more than 50 percent of its matches this season. Seven of the team’s fencers registered positive winning percentages, while numerous other placed at major tournaments.
“The team competed at the highest level that we have over the last few years. The athletes’ mentality over the season continued to build. Everybody stepped up their game and took it a little more seriously,” Head Coach Jacob Sweet said. “Ten of the 12 athletes were Class of 2020 or 2021, so their growth amd maturity just made sense. Most of the team were at least three-year fencers. As they continued to mature, the overall scope of the sport hits home.”
On Jan. 30, North Branford took on the Milford co-op squad that features athletes from Foran and Law. The T-Birds won every one of their JV bouts and all but one of their varsity matches. After the contest, Coach Sweet huddled up his fencers and told them the results. With the season entering the home stretch, Sweet wanted them to know just how well they were competing and how far they had come.
Prior to that matchup, the Thunderbirds participated in the foil competition at the state’s JV and Novice tournaments. North Branford saw five boys finish in the top 50 when the JV Tournament took place at North Haven High School on Jan. 19, including senior captain Nick Bonaldo, who finished 15th. Bonaldo went on to finish in 49th place on the varsity strip at the Individual State Championships.
“When Nick joined the team, he didn’t really want to fence. He showed up the first day and said, ‘Coach, to prepare for the fencing season I watched all of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies,” said Sweet, who completed his fourth season at North Branford. “For Nick to come as far as he did and compete at the level that he did and become a captain, it really just goes to show Nick’s impact on the team.”
Junior Jason Stanford finished in 27th place at the JV Tournament. Fellow junior Justin Frandsen finished 31st, while sophomore Zech Ford came in 41st place for North Branford. Coach Sweet calls Stanford a cerebral individual and said that when he steps on the strip, “You can almost hear the wheels turning.” Frandsen competed in 40 bouts this season and was victorious in half of them. Ford is the lone lefty on the T-Birds’ roster, and Coach Sweet believes that gives him and advantage during his matches.
Junior Luke Kim finished in 16th at the JV Tournament and then placed 67th at the Individual State Championships. Coach Sweet said that Kim continues to improve and has named him a captain heading into next season.
“Luke has really transcended just being just an average fencer, and he has taken the craft of fencing very seriously,” said Sweet, who completed hs. “He goes to other fencing schools during the offseason. During the season, he is always working on drills and his form. Luke has come a long way in terms of his mentality on the strip, as well as his rigor in preparation.”
On the girls’ side, senior Izzy Schanz came in seventh place among 32 competitors at the JV Tournament, after which she finished 57th at the Individual State Championships. Sweet said that Schanz was a leader among both the boys and girls on the squad. She won 62 percent of her matches this year, while recording 208 touches on the campaign.
“Izzy is a quiet, but powerful fencer. She is physically dominant on the strip,” Sweet said. “She could hold her own, even against the best fencers. It was inspiring for the team around her to see someone so dominant.”
Following the JV Tournament, several North Branford fencers tested their mettle at the state’s Novice Tournament at Guilford High School on Jan. 25. Senior Eli Roessler claimed second place among a field of 24 competitors, nearly pulling off a victory in the championship match. Roessler led the team with a 63-percent winning percentage on the year.
“Eli joined the team at the tail end of last season. I had him in class and I kept trying to convince him to join the team, and he eventually did,” Coach Sweet said. “Eli is another one of those cerebral fencers. He will step onto the strip, have someone beat him for a couple of points, know exactly what they did, and use it against them. For Eli to step up this year and take second at the Novice Tournament was amazing. Eli was a force to reckoned with this year, and I really wish he would have joined earlier.”
Sophomore Makenna Stone placed fifth out of 22 competitors at the girls’ Novice Tournament. Sweet calls Stone the T-Birds’ engineer and said that, in addition to her own accomplishments, she has a knack for fixing the team’s gear.
“Makenna is great. She kind of like stepped into a role of the engineer on the team, our armorer. She wants to be an engineer when she grows up. She really took a liking to try and figure out how all our equipment works, which is great for me because it means I don’t have to pay somebody else to do it and she can teach the other kids on the team,” said Sweet. “It was Makeena’s first year fencing, and she ended up fencing novice, JV, and varsity. She fenced against some of the best fencers we faced. She really held her own. Going into next year, knowing she has faced seasoned veterans in her first year means the sky is the limit for her.”
In its last major tournament of the season, North Branford sent several fencers to take part in the Individual State Championships in Guilford on Feb. 29. The Thunderbirds’ top finisher was junior Ethan Sabetta, who finished in 11th place out of 68 competitors. Sabetta served as a captain alongside Bonaldo this season and will continue in that role next year. Sabetta is one of the most experienced members on the team, having fenced for eight years prior to joining the T-Birds.
“Ethan placed 11th at the State Tournament, which is the highest we have ever had a fencer place. To have that in our back pocket going into next year is a great motivator for the rest of the team,” Coach Sweet said. “To have that grounded, humble, mental leadership that Ethan has means that the kids are in great hands next year.”
In addition to Bonaldo, Roessler, and Schanz, Kara Schimelfanick and Allison Wang were the two other seniors who competed for the T-Birds this season. With five seniors graduating, Coach Sweet is looking to recruit more members to the team for the 2020-’21 campaign. When he reaches out to potential fencers, Sweet makes sure they know exactly what his program is all about.
“North Branford fencing is about a positive mentality and a camaraderie that rivals any other sport in the school. We aren’t the most well-known sport or the most well-known team, but when I think about the positive interactions we have on our team, it goes well beyond any team I’ve ever coached. It’s next level,” said Sweet. “The respect these kids have for each other and the healthy competition that exists between them as members of the same team is great. North Branford takes building relationships with other teams so seriously. We have left no meets with a sour taste in our mouth. Even if we get beat, at the end of the day, North Branford fencers treasure the competition as much the camaraderie.”