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03/03/2024 11:55 PMFor the North Haven fencing team as a whole, it has been on a path that has only been on an upward incline for the last two years. Now, the Nighthawks have their first piece of tangible proof of their efforts, with an historic conference title.
At the Central Connecticut Fencing Conference (CCFC) Championships on Feb. 24 at Guilford High School, the Nighthawks claimed a piece of program history by securing the team’s first ever conference title. The men’s foil squad clinched their crown to net the Nighthawks the inaugural crown. Additionally, all three disciplines for the women’s squads found their way to the semifinals.
It is another testament to the old adage that hard work and dedication pays off in spades, as the fencers have dedicated themselves to the strip no matter the season, and focused on garnering more bout experience.
“It means quite a lot to win; this is our first ever conference title since joining at the start of the 2021-22 season,” said Head Coach James Harris. “It means even more considering how hard this men's foil team worked during the offseason to get here. They all spent the summer and fall working out at the Iconic Fencing Club in Wallingford, spending nights, getting lessons, and competing against more experienced fencers. To see all that hard work pay off is a great feeling.”
The men’s foil team of Grant Grotzke, Ben Pollio, Gavin Brawn, and Haram Lee, defeated No. 6 seed Cheshire (5-1), No. 2 seed Morgan (5-3), and lastly, regular season No. 1 seed Guilford (5-4) to claim the men's foil title.
The team defeated Morgan in a hard-fought semifinals match, with Grotzke winning the decisive bout 5-4 to secure a place in the finals. Pollio and Brawn went 2-and-1 against Guilford in the finals, with Brawn securing the final victory in the last bout for a 5-4 win over the defending state and conference champions.
“Ben Pollio fenced incredibly the entire day, winning two bouts in the finals,” said Harris. “ Grant Grotzke overcame a leg injury to win an important bout in the finals, and Gavin Brawn fenced fantastic in the last bout of the match to clinch the win. All three of the boys fenced great all day, with a different fencer clinching the win in each round.”
The women's foil squad started by defeating No. 4 seed Cheshire in the quarterfinals, with senior Rachel Adams going 3-0 to pace the squad. This included an impressive victory over First Team All-Conference athlete Elisa Pannone of Cheshire. In the semifinals, the squad faced off against defending state champion (and eventual conference champion) Guilford, falling 5-1.
The women’s epee team fended off Cheshire in the first round, with Fiona Gao winning two bouts to pace the squads. In the semifinals, the girls went up against No. 2 Morgan and lost 5-3.
The women's sabre team earned a bye in the first round due to their regular season record, before taking on No. 4 seed (and eventual conference champion) Morgan. The girls lost 5-4, despite fantastic performances from Nina Novicki and Angela Lin. Lin went 2-1 in the semifinals to pace the squad.
“For the girls, Rachel Adams fenced fantastic and almost single-handedly pushed her squad into the semifinals. She went 3-0 against Cheshire, including defeating Pannone for the clinching win,” said Harris. “Nina Novicki really fenced well for the girls’ sabre squad, dropping a close bout at the end of our semifinal loss. She has come such a long way this season, and is really starting to believe in herself as a fencer. We've got three fencers on that squad who I know will step up in a pressure bout, and that's a great feeling.”
The men's epee squad faced off against No. 3 seed and eventual conference champion Guilford and fought extremely hard before falling 5-0, with three of those bouts being decided by a total of three touches.
The men’s sabre squad took on No. 3 seed Morgan in the quarterfinals and fell 5-1. Jeff Stalker earned his first conference championship win for the squad in the loss.
North Haven had four fencers earn First Team All-Conference awards in Anita Sajan, Ayla Sivri, Brawn, and Pollio. Sajan, Sivri, and Pollio also earned All-Academic awards. Gao, Anna Hansard, Lin, and Matt Kompare all earned Second Team All-Conference honors.
For overall records through conference championship action with the boys’ squads, the foil team is 11-5, epee is 3-13, and sabre is 2-14. For the counterpart marks on the girls’ slate, foil is 7-9, while epee sports a record of 10-6, and sabre is 12-4.
Adams, Sajan, and Sivri have served admirably this winter as the captains for the program. While at the helm, they have been with the program since the reconstruction phases of the group post-pandemic. Yet the three of them showed maturity beyond their years after truly listening to their coaches, and not just paying them lip service.
“These three captains have been absolutely outstanding all season long. We only have four seniors this year, but what we are going to lose in terms of leadership is going to be really tough. Rachel Adams, Anita Sajan, and Ayla Sivri started on this team when we were trying to rebuild the girls’ squads after COVID,” said Harris. “They got put into some really challenging situations their first year, but the coaches promised them that if they worked hard and stayed focused, they would see success by the time they graduated. The three of them took that advice and ran with it, providing leadership to their squads and the entire team. They run practices, organize drills, and motivate their teammates through their words and examples.”
Harris, now in reflection following hoisting a conference title, admits that the boys have greatly defied his personal preseason projections for them. Still, it is a confession that actually serves to show the seedy and swift progression of a youthful bunch that grasped the game with grace.
“I'll be honest, at the start of the year my expectations were that the boys’ squads were probably the farthest away from really challenging for titles,” Harris said. “We knew we had a talented and experienced group of girls, but our boys’ teams had so many first-year starters, so we weren't sure what to expect. To see how they have come along all year, not only becoming better fencers, but also getting comfortable with the challenges and pressure of fencing on the varsity level, has been great to see. It's a testament to the work of the captains and coaches that we're starting to see pay off.”
The Individual State Championships that took place on March 2 served as a qualification competition for the Team State Championships on Saturday, March 9. Harris detailed that all six squads are determined to push through to the preeminent strip for the sport.
“Our goal since the start of the season has been to qualify all six of our squads, and based on our performance [at the CCFC Championships] that goal is still in play,” said Harris. “Our men’s and women's foil teams are finally starting to see what the coaches have seen in them all year–that they are legitimate challengers. Our men's epee and sabre squads both fenced loose, so I feel like they're mentally prepared and excited for the challenge. Our women's epee team is probably the deepest and most experienced squad on the team, they just need to start figuring out how to turn that into wins. Our women's sabre squad knows they have unfinished business, and talking to them, I know they are not happy with their results from the conference championships, and I can tell you that I don't want to be on the other side of the strip when those girls are fired up.”
For the season rosters for each discipline, the men’s foil group is comprised of senior Caleb Groth, junior Grotzke, sophomores Pollio and Brawn, and freshmen Lee and Owen Arenberg. The epee club is maintained with junior Kompare, along with sophomores Jonas Miller, Tim Flanagan, and Wajahat Ali. The sabre squad is made up of junior Stalker, sophomores Roberto Frunzio, Jo Maciejko, and Colby Parker.
The women’s foil club includes senior Adams, juniors Hanako Moffat, Emily Cerasoli, and Zayna Saidi, sophomores Melanie Petrillo, Norah Joby, and freshman Yuhan Zhang. The epee group is senior Sivri, juniors Hansard, Jannat Imran, and Gao, sophomore Georgia Tancreti, and freshman Uni Khondoker. Lastly, the sabre team is completed with senior Sajan, juniors Novicki, Skye Carlisle, and Chelsea Chin-Mook, sophomore Lin, plus freshmen Moquddas Imran, and Tyda Kin.