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03/23/2017 12:00 AMHank Huhnke dove deeper into the world of fencing following his freshman year at Guilford and discovered a new discipline that he liked in the sabre sword. With his interest in the sport sparked, Hank has since helped the Indians’ fencing program carry on its legacy during the three subsequent seasons.
Hank played basketball, soccer, and lacrosse while growing up before beginning his fencing career in 8th grade. After starting with sabre in his sophomore year, Hank just missed making the cut for the Indians’ soccer squad as a junior. Still, there was a silver lining in that Hank now had more time to hone his craft as a fencer.
As a senior captain this winter, Hank tied for 10th place at the Individual State Championship, after which he and his fellow fencers led Guilford to its first state title in boys’ sabre at the Team State Championship. In fact, Hank secured the crown for the Indians by winning his final bout. For the season, he finished with an excellent overall record of 35-7.
“Being a part of the first boys’ sabre title is spectacular. Sabre hasn’t been around here long at Guilford, but it has caught some steam the last few years with the coaches teaching us the rules of it,” says Hank. “We finished third when I was a sophomore and then we still did fairly well my junior year. It was still great to see improvement and know that I had another year to still improve. We were seeded lower this year as the 5th seed, but we told ourselves going in that we had come so far, and that we didn’t want to go home with bronze or silver. It’s still surreal to have this win happen.”
Hank was behind 4-3 in the title-clinching contest, but fought back to make it 4-4, and then attacked his opponent to get a green light for the winning touch and a historic 5-4 victory for both himself and the Indians. Now reflecting upon his fencing career at Guilford, Hank extends great thanks to all the people who’ve given him a groundswell of support in the gym.
“It all really surmounted to a lot. We were up 4-2 and just needed one more point, but Greenwich came back,” Hank says. “I thought about the past years and how it’d be nice to end on a good note as a senior, so I wanted to win that last bout. It was nerve-racking and exciting, but I was motivated by my teammates, coaches, and the crowd. I was glad to end Guilford fencing like that.”
As he began to broaden his fencing horizons as an underclassmen, Hank also gained some early experience on the state’s biggest stages, fueling his forthcoming success that culminated in championship glory for Guilford. As a second-year captain this winter, Hank says that he learned a thing or two from his first run as a team leader.
“My freshman year, we were required to fence foil, but then people improved in the offseason and wanted to try different weapons sophomore year. Eventually, I slowly got better and made states that season. It was a really good experience that prepared me for the next year. I took junior year very seriously and was ninth at states and then did camps and private lessons heading into this year and was able to reach outcomes I had in the back of my mind,” says Hank. “I was lucky that my team voted me captain last year and this year. Coming into this year, I had a full year under my belt as captain, so I was able to connect with the team on another level. We had positive and great interaction all year. Captains usually lead stretches in practice and, at times, run them. I felt comfortable with leading our team.”
Indians’ Head Coach Kyle Mezzi says that Hank exhibited strong leadership qualities from the outset of his career, and adds that Hank’s confidence proved a catalyst for the sabre’s squad’s prosperity.
“Hank has been a leader on our team for a long time. He was chosen as a captain of our team for a second time this season. He has always shown strong leadership skills, and has a strong belief in his abilities and those of his teammates. That belief made him a consistent performer for us all season long. The evidence of that is his 31-4 record during the regular season,” says Mezzi. “We have only been fencing sabre at states for a few years. We have been competitive for the last few years, but this year was the first time we walked in with an air of confidence that we really could beat [schools like Hopkins, Greenwich, and North Haven] that have been fencing sabre for a while. The consistency that Hank had during the regular season went a long way to building that confidence.”
“We found in Hank, all season and again at team states, a person that wins consistently in those tight matches against strong competition,” Coach Mezzi continues. “Against Greenwich in the final, Hank found himself in an all too familiar position. When the match score is 4-4, the bout score is 4-4, and the next action will decide a championship, you want your two-time captain, your consistent performer, and that fencer that has been in that position before—you want that person in the specific position. Hank delivered in that clutch moment and cemented Guilford as a power in sabre in Connecticut high school fencing. We were happy to have Hank as a leader of our team and excited to have a fencer like him in that pivotal moment for our team.”
Fencing is as much a mental chess match as it is a physical grind, and Hank concludes by expressing how he appreciates that everyone in Guilford’s fencing program always tries to out-think their adversaries in order to ultimately outperform them on the strip.
“Fencing is unique because it’s such both an individual and team sport. You have a certain amount of bouts, so you learn to be the best you can be. You learn to find the weak spots in both you and your opponent, along with how to help your teammates,” says Hank, who thanks Mezzi, assistant coach Chris Balestracci, the entire team, and his parents, James Huhnke and Barbara van Leeuwen. “Fencing definitely helped me in many ways and was a season I looked forward to every year. It was a great team and great environment and we backed that up with our results. I will certainly miss it.”