Mendham High School Fencing

Mendham Boys Named 'Team to Watch' by Star-Ledger

In case you missed it, the Star-Ledger named Mendham High School Boys' Fencing the team to watch this week after their thrilling victory over Randolph, 15-12.  Click here to be whisked to the article.

Senior Night Hosting Chatham, Monday, February 7

Mendham Boys' Basketball played and won their first game in the county championship on Saturday.  Therefore, our Chatham home dual meets will take place as scheduled on Monday.  All fencers should report to the cafeteria at 4:45pm to move equipment to the main gym.

Seniors should look over the Senior Send-off brochure Coach Tishman e-mailed them.  Send changes to Mrs. Doyle.

In addition, Athletic Director Baglin will try to confirm Mendham at Livingston for Valentine's Day.

 

Morris FC Weapon-Specific Training

Mendham High School's fencing program will be practicing on Saturday, February 5, at Morris Fencing Club, Randolph.

For the foil fencers, there is free fencing from 10am until 12:30pm.  That might be more valuable than the foil session at 4:00pm.

Epee at 1pm

Sabre at 2:30pm

Foil at 4:00pm

These group lessons are paid for by the Mendham High School Fencing Parents' Association, which is an IRC 501(c) non-profit organization.

Valentine Day Dual Meets Added to Schedule

If the Morris County Championship boy's preliminary round basketball game scheduled for Mendham on Saturday evening is snowed out, it will be played on Monday evening, February 7.  Unfortunately, that would mean our Chatham home meets would be postponed until Monday, February 14, Valentine's Day.  

If the Chatham meets come off as scheduled on Monday, February 7, then we will make up our previously postponed Livingston away meets on Monday, February 14.  As of this writing, Mendham High School's Fencing Program will have dual meets, either home versus Chatham or away at Livingston on Valentine's Day.

The Mendham_HS_Fencing_Schedule_2010-11 is updated with the latest information including the Livingston meets and the State Team Championship dual meets thru the semifinals.

Either way the home Chatham meets are Senior Send-off, beginning at 5:45pm.  Recalcitrant senior Gaston Gonzalez must get his information into Mrs. Doyle immediately or be left off the program. 

 

MCW This Week Athlete Profile: Alex Boden

In case you missed it, girls' sabre squad captain Alex Boden is this week's athlete of the week in the Mendham-Chester supplement to the Daily Record. Click here to read the article.

Sabre Practice Thursday ON As Scheduled; Randolph Meets Rescheduled to Friday

The boys' and girls' varsity and JV dual meets hosting Randolph HS are rescheduled for Friday, February 4, at 6pm.  All fencers should report at 4:45pm to the cafeteria to move our equipment to the main gym.  Fencers should wear their navy blue Mark of Mendham polo shirts to school to publicize our home dual meets.

Sabre specific practice will be held as scheduled Thursday, February 3, from 4pm-6 in the high school cafeteria.

Some confusion has come up regarding being out of school for college visits and the ability to compete that day in interscholastic varsity competition.  Some people are confusing this situation with the rule that athletes who do not attend school for illness are not allowed to participate that same day.  However, those trying to get into college have no such restriction.  The reason for missing school is the important consideration, not the mere fact of missing school.

Recalcitrant seniors, get your information sheets for Senior Send-off on Monday, February 7, against Chatham to Mrs. Doyle, pronto.

 

Randolph Meets Postponed

The Randolph dual meets, scheduled for Wednesday, February 2, are postponed with the school closed for the inclement weather.

Athletic Director Baglin is trying to reschedule Randolph  for tomorrow Thursday evening, which would  be in the small gym, unfortunately.  Check back here for the latest information.

Tuesday Practice Cancelled; Randolph Meets; Presidents' Weekend Travel info

Foil and Sabre practice scheduled for Tuesday, February 1, is cancelled because of the freezing rain.

The reporting time for all members of both teams for the Randolph meets on Wednesday, February 2, is 4:45pm in the cafeteria. 

Fans, please come out to support your boys' team who will be in a huge battle with the Randolph boys for the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference regular season title.

Every varsity fencer who is traveling over the President's weekend must e-mail his or her flight info to Coach Tishman.  This will become important if we ask for postponements of State Championship dual meets because of this snowy winter.

Mendham Girls Seeded #2; Boys Seeded #11

The Mendham Girls' fencing team, seeded number #2, will host #15 Voorhees in a "Sweet 16" dual meet in the NSJIAA/Bollinger Fencing Team State Championship on Tuesday evening, February 8, at 6pm, in the small gym.

#11-seed Mendham boys will be traveling to #6 Montgomery for their first round match on Wednesday afternoon, February 9, for a 4:30pm start time.

Go to the NJIFA website's schedule page to see the complete state championship schedule, including Squad States and Individual States.  The Mendham fencing program will have a record nine fencers competing at the Individual State Championships on Saturday, March 12, at Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ.  

All varsity fencers must check their schedules immediately against the state championship dual meets, squad states and individual states schedules for potential conflicts.  All conflicts must be brought to the attention of the coaching staff immediately.  These conflicts include any jet travel over the Presidents' weekend holiday.  With the winter we are having, fencers might get caught away without being able to return for critical state championship dual meets. 

Training will continue for all squads until the Squads States on the last weekend in February.

Description of the NJSIAA District 1 Championships and Line-ups

Download the Description of the District 1 Championships(.doc)

There is no fleching and no calling time-outs.  The Districts are very similiar to the Morris County Championships, but with five additional schools, Bernards, Gill St. Bernards, Hackettstown, Ridge and Somerville, and two less, Butler and Chatham, who compete in different Districts. Another major difference is that there is a 5-3-1 promotion scheme for the A-B-C strips, respectively, to a larger finals pool.  And, of course, the last major difference is that all the events qualify either a 3-weapon team, a single-weapon squad or an individual to the appropriate NJSIAA State Championship.

Mendham Girls		Mendham Boys
Foil		Foil
Ryan Western		Kyle Doyle
Bea Jacobson		Adam Campos
Jessica Lakritz		Julian Campos
Annie Blanc		Adam Pollack
Emily Peters		Joe Marrett
Epee		Epee
Kaitlyn Wallace		Mark Zimmermann
Megan Wallace		James Flanagan
Shawn Osarczuk		Lars Swanson
Angela Flanagan		Alexander Andriatis
Lea Fuscaldo		Jairo Gonzalez-Ward
		James McManus
Sabre		Sabre
Alexandra Boden		Kyle Persau
Natasha Sidhu		Joseph Falvo
Meredith Gano		Mark Zawadiwsky
Jennifer Beede		Gaston Gonzalez
		Robin Rizal

Fencers are not necessarily in the A-B-C-S order that will be used on the day of the competition.

 

In Case You Missed It ...

... the Observer-Tribune carried the following story in the paper dated Thursday, January 27, 2011: "Boys and Girls Fencing Teams Come on Strong at County Championships."

Sabre Practice Thursday ON As Scheduled, but in Randolph

The Mendham High School sabre practice on Thursday, January 27, with guest coach Frank Kassimov, will be held as scheduled from 4pm-6. 

Practice will be held at Morris Fencing Club, 5 Aspen Drive, Randolph.

If anybody needs a ride, please contact Mr. Tishman immediately.

Wednesday Practice Cancelled

Practice scheduled for Wednesday afterrnoon, January 26, is cancelled.  The building is being shut down because of the early dismissal.

All fencers should use this opportunity to wash their whites and stretch out at home this evening while watching TV. 

Some of our epeeists will be traveling to Atlantic Fencing Club for a mid-week open tournament.  Bonne chance!

Vote for the Best Sports Teams

We in the Mendham High School fencing community, of course, know who the best male and female sports teams are. 

Make sure the rest of our larger community knows, too. Vote for the best male and female sports teams on the 3rd annual "Mendies Best of ..." ballot.  The ballot is due back at Mendham TV, local channel 25, by February 15.

Photos from Boys' Foil Squad at MCHSFC

Click on the picture to see it full-size in a pop-up window.

   
Adam Campos            Adam Pollack                Julian Campos
Infights                      Corp-a-corp                  Attacks

 

Photos courtesy of Anne Zimmermann

Mendham HS Fencing's Next Two Weeks

Date	Event	Report Time
Mon, Jan 24	Foil, Sabre Practice in Cafeteria	5pm - 7
Tue, Jan 25	Dual Meets at Morristown	4:45pm Bus
Wed, Jan 26	Epee, Foil Practice in Cafeteria	5pm - 7
Thu, Jan 27	Sabre Practice in Cafeteria 8th Grade Orientation	4pm - 6 8pm
Fri, Jan 28	3 Weapon Practice w/ Peak Perf	5pm - 7
Sat, Jan 29	Pizza Party@A Flanagan's Home	6pm
Sun, Jan 30	District Championships for Varsity	7:15am
Mon, Jan 31	Foil, Sabre Practice in Cafeteria	5pm-7
Tue, Feb 1	Epee, Sabre Practice in Cafeteria	5pm-7
Wed, Feb 2	Hosting Randolph in Big Gym	5:00pm set-up
Thu, Feb 3	Sabre Practice in Cafeteria	4pm-6
Fri, Feb 4	3-Weapons w/Peak Perf	5pm-7pm
Sat, Feb 5	Practice at Morris FC          E@1  S@3   F@5
Sun, Feb 6	No practice
Mon, Feb 7	Chatham Home w/ Senior Send-off	4:30pm

Media Coverage of Morris County Championships

Star-Ledger, Girls' Fencing Week in Review

Star-Ledger, Boys Fencing - Results in Both Genders

Daily Record

Mendham Girls Sweep the Inaugural Morris County Championships

Randolph, January 22, 2011 - The inaugural Morris County High School Fencing Championships held at Randolph High School were dominated today by Mendham High School in the girls' team competition, while the boys' team took second, 47-48, to Randolph. 

The Mendham girls' sabre squad of Alexandra Boden, Natasha Sidhu and freshman Meredith Gano lead the way going 19-2 in the team event and qualifying all three members to the afternoon's individual finals, where Boden continued her undefeated day by going 5-0 to take the Morris County Individual Sabre title.

The Mendham girls' epee squad consisting of defending NJSIAA state individual champion Kaitlyn Wallace, Megan Wallace and Shawn Osarczuk went 19-2, also.  All three fencers qualified to the individual finals, where Kaitlyn Wallace just squeaked by her sister, 5-4, and then sweep the rest of the field.

The girls' foil squad of Ryan Western, Jessica Lakritz, Annie Blanc and freshman Emily Peters went 13-8.  Western qualified to the individual foil finals, where like Boden, remained undefeated all day to take the Individual Foil Gold Medal.

The girls' three-weapon team won the first Morris County Girls' Fencing Team Championship, 51-44, over second place West Morris Central.

_________________________

Mendham Boys Take Second to Randolph

Mendham's boys' foil squad dominated the team competition, going 20-1.  The squad of Adam Campos, Julian Campos and Adam Pollack all qualified into the individual final, where both Campos brothers won 4 of 5 bouts to set up a barrage for 1st place, which Julian took, 5-2.  Pollack was Mendham's Fencer of the Match by coming off the bench to dominate the C-strip 7-0.

The epee squad of Mark Zimmermann, James Flanagan and Lars Swanson went 17-4 during the squad event to finish second to Randolph, while sending all three members to the Individual Epee finals.  Mark Zimmermann, who went 4-1 in the final pool, but lost a barrage for first place to Zeyad Abdellatif of Randolph, 4-5.  Behind Zimmermann in third was Swanson who went 3-2 to take the bronze.

The sabre squad of Kyle Persau, Joseph Falvo and Gaston Gonzalez contributed mightily to the close 2nd place finish behind Randolph by winning 10 of 21 bouts.

____________________________

Mendham's Boys' and Girls' Fencing Teams next see action on Tuesday evening, January 25, as they travel to take on Morristown High School in a pair of Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference dual meets.  Both Mendham teams are 5-0 in NwJAC regular season dual meets.

 

Friday's and Saturday's Schedule

Practice will held in the high school's cafeteria from 5pm-6:45 to accomodate getting over to Chester for the demonstration.  Varsity fencers should assume the building will be closed Saturday morning and take all their equipment home with them.  Fencers are responsible for their own transport to and from the fencing demonstration and the pizza party.

The fencing demonstration is still on for 7pm at the new Field House in Grove Street Park, Chester, with entry off of Seminary Avenue. Afterwards, all fencers can munch on pizza, courtesy of the MHSFPA,  from 8pm at New York Pizza, Main Street in Chester.

Below are the varsity squads for the Morris County Championships.  The squads are NOT necessarily in the A-B-C-S order in which fencers will compete.  All varsity fencers will travel roundtrip on the bus.  The bus leaves Mendham HS at 7:30am and will return at approximately 4pm.

Mendham Girls		Mendham Boys
Foil		Foil
Ryan Western		Adam Campos
Bea Jacobson		Julian Campos
Jessica Lakritz		Adam Pollack
Annie Blanc		Tommy Myers
Emily Peters
Epee		Epee
Kaitlyn Wallace		Mark Zimmermann
Megan Wallace		James Flanagan
Shawn Osarczuk		Lars Swanson
Angela Flanagan		Alexander Andriatis
Lea Fuscaldo		Jairo Gonzalez-Ward
Sabre		Sabre
Alexandra Boden		Kyle Persau
Natasha Sidhu		Joseph Falvo
Meredith Gano		Gaston Gonzalez
Jennifer Beede		Mark Zawadiwsky

Western Named "Fencer of the Week" by Star Ledger for Santelli Performance

The Star Ledger this week named Mendham High School senior and girls' fencing captain Ryan Western "Girls' Fencer of the Week" for her undefeated performance on the A-strip at the Santelli Relay Championships leading Mendham's foil squad to the gold medal.  Western won 13 encounters and tied twice.

Mendham Fencing's Next Few Days

Wed 19 Jan - All fencers - Buses to WM Central Leave Mendham at 5:30pm

Thu 20 Jan - All fencers - Set -up Small Gym for Butler 5:00pm

Fri 21 Jan - All fencers - Practice in cafeteria, 5:00-7:00pm
7:00pm Boys Scouts Demo in Chester
Pizza Party

Sat 22 Jan - Varsity bus to Morris Co. Champs 7:30am; Returns at 4:30pm

Tuesday Practice Cancelled for Weather

Practice on Tuesday, January 18, is cancelled because of inclement weather.

Mendham 3rd at NJIFA Santelli Relay Championships

Read the Santelli Relay Championships coverage in the Star Ledger that includes a great picture of Mendham's foilist Ryan Western:

NJ Girls' Fencing: GL Captures Santelli Tournament

Mendham's squads were Santelli Champions in foil, 4th in sabre and 9th in epee.

No Practice on MLK Day

With the school being shuttered at 3pm on MLK Day, there will be no practice on Monday, January 17.

Livingston Matches Snowed Out; Schedule Updated

The Mendham High School varsity and jv boys' and girls' fencing meets at Livingston High School, scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, January 12, are not being held because both schools are closed for a snow day.

If the meets are rescheduled, there will be an announcement here.  Do not rely on the highschoolsports.net website for information regarding the Mendham High School Fencing schedule.  The Athletic Department does not keep that website accurate on an up-to-the-minute basis.

The season schedule, which is at the top of the left-hand column of this blog, is updated with the correct information.

Season Schedule Updated; Relay Championships Description

Note that the season schedule at the top of the left-hand column of the Mendham HS Fencing weblog is updated with the postponement of the Santelli Girls' Relays and the change in venue and earlier time of the Columbia dual meets.

To learn more about the format of the NJIFA Relay Championships, click here.

Girls Santelli Relays Postponed; Friday Practice Cancelled

______________________________

Boys' Varsity Line-up for Cetrulos

Morris Knolls High School, in conjunction with the New Jersey Interscholastic Fencing Association, postponed the NJIFA Santelli Girls' Relay Championships until Sunday, January 16.

The NJIFA Cetrulo Boys' Relay Championships on Sunday, January 9, are unaffected.  The boys varsity bus will leave at 7:15am from in front of the high school.  The return bus will leave Voorhees at 6:00pm.  All varsity fencers should plan on attending all day and returning on the bus. 

Boys Varsity for the Cetrulo Relays:

Sabre: Persau, Falvo, Zawadiwsky, Gonzalez

Epee: Zimmerman, Flanagan, Swanson, Andriatis

Foil: ACampos, Doyle, JCampos, Pollack

All male varsity fencers should take their equipment home tonight Friday.  Assume you will not have access to the school over the weekend.

Practice for Friday, January 7, is cancelled.  We are trying to postpone, not cancel, the pizza party until next Friday.  Stay tuned.

Swanson 3rd at Bergen Open, Earns C

Sunday, January 2, Hohokus, NJ - Mendham High School sophomore Lars Swanson took 3rd in a B-rated epee open at the Bergen Fencing Club.  Swanson represents the Morris Fencing Club of Randolph, NJ, in US Fencing Association tournaments.  His finish bumped him up from an E- to a C-rating.  Click here to see the complete results. 

Mendham HS Fencing's Next Two Weeks

Mendham HS Fencing's Schedule for the Next Two Weeks

Monday, January 3, Sabre and Foil practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm, physical trainer for the 1st hour

Tuesday, January 4, Sabre and epee practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm, Epee works with physical trainer for 1st hour.

Wednesday, January 5, Foil and epee practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm

Thursday, January 6, Host Hackettstown Varsity and JV Meets in Big Gym, 6:00pm. Set-up at 5:00pm.

Friday, January 7, Practice, 5pm-7pm, Pizza Party in Cafeteria, 7pm to 7:30pm

Saturday, January 8, Girls Varsity at Santelli Relays, Small Bus, 7:30am to Morris Knolls, Return bus leaves Morris Knolls at approximately 6:00pm

Sunday, January 9, Boys Varsity at Cetrulo Relays, Small Bus, 7:15am to Voorhees, return bus leaves Voorhees at approximately 6:00pm

___________________

Monday, January 10, Host Morris Knolls in Varsity and JV Dual Meets in Small Gym, 6pm, set-up 5pm.

Tuesday, January 11, Epee and sabre practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm

Wednesday, January 12, Away Varsity and JV Meets at Livingston High School, One Large and One Small Bus Leave at 3:15pm – leave Livingston at 7:00pm for return trip

Thursday, January 13, Sabre practice in cafeteria at 4pm-6pm

Friday, January 14, Practice, 5pm-7pm

Saturday, January 15, Home meets in Big Gym hosting Columbia HS, 10:00am, set-up at 9:00am **Changed from Original Schedule**

Sidhu Repeats as Sabre Champion

Undefeated Swanson Takes Gold in Epee

Rockaway, NJ, Thursday, December 30, 2010 - Mendham High School's fencing program sent 21 athletes to the 5th annual Morris Knolls Freshman-Sophomore Invitational Tournament.  Thirteen schools from Morris County and surrounding counties participate in the all-day tournament, which saw a total of 230 competitors.  Two gold medal-winning performances were scored by varsity starters from the high school: Natasha Sidhu, repeated her gold medal performance from last season's freshman women's sabre, and Lars Swanson bettered his 4th place finish in last year's freshman event, by going undefeated all day.  In the finals, Swanson beat the fencer to whom he lost in last season's bronze medal bout. 

Other standout performances included Julian Campos, silver medalist in freshman boys' foil, Kyle Persau, bronze, in sophomore boys' sabre and Sarah Redick, bronze in freshman girls' epee.  Persau was able to win one of three bouts in the semi-finals against USFA C-rated Jason Cai, who was the eventual champion.

Freshman Results - Sophomore Results

For many of the freshmen below, this was their first taste of an individual fencing tournament.  This tournament is considered an integral part of the Mendham fencing program by its coaching staff.

Boys			Girls
	Sophomore
Foil
Joe Marrett	7/22		Annie Blanc	18/25
Dmitri Bleifer	16/22
Chris Buckler	20/22
Epee
Lars Swanson	1/23		Angela Flanagan	5/16
Jairo Gonzalez-Ward	19/23
Dan McDonald	21/23
Sabre
Kyle Persau	3/20		Natashu Sidhu	1/12 *
Joe Falvo	9/20
Michael Hasson	16/20		* repeat champion
	Freshman
Foil
Julian Campos	2/28		Emily Peters	7/24
Danny Hoogerhyde	17/28
Epee
Anthony Bello	4/14		Sarah Redick	3/21
Peter Sauter	7/14		Leah Hoogerhyde	6/21
Brad Fortunato	12/14		Jennifer Beede	17/21
Sabre
			Meredith Gano	4/12

Mendham Boys Fencing Sweeps Holiday Quad

Girls Absorb 1st Loss of Season to Governor Livingston

Berkeley Heights, NJ, Tuesday, December 28 - Lead by Mark Zimmermann in epee and Julian Campos in foil, Mendham High School Boys' Fencing Team swept the Governor Livingston Holiday Quadrangular Meet held at the Columbia Middle School here today.  Mendham beat Governor Livingston and Ramapo, both ranked in the NJ top-10 by the Star Ledger and by the NJIFA, by identical scores of 15-12.   

Zimmermann, a junior and squad leader, went 3-0 in all three meets for a 9-0 record on the day.  Freshman Julian Campos was 7-0 on the day before being lifted for a substiute in the last of the three meets, which was a big win over Hackettstown, 23-4.  The boys' record is 6-1, having only lost to West-Windsor Plainsboro North in the first dual meet of the season. 

The girls' team, which was once again only at two-thirds strength because of holiday vacation plans by some team members, could not overcome the lack of the missing starters against the 8-0 Highlanders from Governor Livingston, losing at the clinching score of 14-8.  Mendham's girls bounced back from their first loss of the season with big wins over Lakeland and Hackettstown.  The season won-loss record for Mendham's girls is 6-1.   

Mendham Fencing's Next Two Weeks

Monday, December 27, Practice cancelled

Tuesday, December 28, Varsity Quad Meets at Columbia Middle School, Berkeley Heights, Round-Trip Bus Leaves Mendham HS at 9:15am; Returns approximately 4pm.

Wednesday, December 29, Foil & epee practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm

Thursday, December 30, Morris Knolls Frosh-Soph Tourney, One Large, One-Way Bus leaves Mendham HS at 7:30am. No return trip.

Friday, December 31, No Practice

Saturday, January 1, No Practice

Sunday, January 2, Practice at Morris FC: Foil, 12noon; Sabre, 2pm; Epee, 4pm.

_______________________________ 

Monday, January 3, Sabre and Foil practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm

Tuesday, January 4, Sabre and epee practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm

Wednesday, January 5, Foil and epee practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm

Thursday, January 6, Host Hackettstown Varsity and JV Meets in Big Gym, 6:00pm. Set-up at 5:00pm.

Friday, January 7, Practice, 5pm-7pm, Pizza Party in Cafeteria, 7pm to 7:30pm

Saturday, January 8, Girls Varsity at Santelli Relays, Small Bus, 7:30am to Morris Knolls, Return bus leaves Morris Knolls at approximately 6:00pm

Sunday, January 9, Boys Varsity at Cetrulo Relays, Small Bus, 7:15am to Voorhees, return bus leaves Voorhees at approximately 6:00pm

Monday, January 10, Host Morris Knolls in Varsity and JV Dual Meets in Small Gym, 6pm, set-up 5pm.

Monday's Practice Cancelled

Practice on Monday, December 27, is cancelled.

The varsity bus leaves for the quad meet at 9:15am on Tuesday, December 28.   See the previous posting for the line-ups traveling to Governor Livingston. 

Quad Meet Line-ups

The line-ups for the holiday quad at Governor Livingston is posted here. Download the line-ups. The bus will leave Mendham High School at 9:15am.

If your name is on the list below and you cannot make it, use this attendance link ASAP.

	Boys			Girls
Epee	Zimmermann		Epee	Oscarzuk
	J Flanagan			A Flanagan
	Swanson			Hoogerhyde
	Gonzalez-Ward			Redick
				Beede
Foil	Doyle		Foil	Western
	A Campos			Jacobson
	J Campos			Peters
	Pollack
Sabre	Persau		Sabre	Boden
	Falvo			Sidhu
	Gonzalez			Donato
	Zawadiwsky			Gano

Schedule of Holiday Quad Meet

Please, download the letter from Coach Paragano of Governor Livingston, which includes the schedule of dual meets at the Highlanders' Holiday Quad Meet on Tuesday, December 28.

Bus for varsity leaves at 9:15am for meets that begin at 10:30am.

Unlike the Somerville Quad, which is fenced college-style with all three weapons competed simulataneously, the Highlander Holiday Quad is three high school-style dual meets back-to-back.

All fencers are required to return on the bus, which will be approximately 4:30pm.

Weapon-specific Training at Morris FC

Weapon-specific practices will be held on Sunday, January 2, 2011, at Morris Fencing Club. 

• Foil 12 noon

• Sabre 2 pm

• Epee 4 pm

Squad leaders will start the sessions with warm-ups and Morris FC's coaches will lead them thru the last hour and a half of training.

Attendance will be taken.  Use the attendance link at the top of this weblog for legitimate excuses only.   Homework, parties and other social events will not be considered legitimate excuses.

Sabre Practice Cancelled

Sabre practice on Thursday, December 23, is cancelled.

Persau Now Certified USFA Referee

Sophomore sabre squad leader Kyle Persau joins the ranks of the Mendham Fencers who are, also, certified USFA referees.

This past weekend, Persau attended practical exams at the Barbara Lynch Memorial fencing tournament and qualified in both foil and sabre. Persau previously passed the written USFA referee tests.

Congratulations!

By policy, the Mendham HS Fencing Parents' Association will reimburse the $50 cost for any student-athlete who takes the seminar and exam.

Mendham Fencing's Next Two Weeks

• Monday, December 20, F&S Practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm
• Tuesday, December 21, S&E Practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm
• Wednesday, December 22, Varsity and JV Away Meets @ Morris Hills, Buses Leave Mendham HS at 5:15pm, returning at 8:30pm
• Thursday, December 23, Sabre Practice in cafeteria, 4pm-6pm
• Friday, December 24, Christmas Eve, No Practice
• Saturday, December 25, Christmas, No Practice
• Sunday, December 26, Boxing Day, No Practice, Foil & Epee Opens at Gutkovskiy FA and Sabre Open at Bergen FC

____________________________________ 

• Monday, December 27, F&S Practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm
• Tuesday, December 28, Varsity Quad Meets at Columbia Middle School, Berkeley Heights, One Round-Trip Bus Leaves Mendham HS at 9:15am; Returns approximately 4pm.
• Wednesday, December 29, F&E Practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm
• Thursday, December 30, Morris Knolls Freshman-Sophomore Tournament, One-way bus leaves Mendham HS at 7:30am, No Return Trip.
• Friday, December 31, New Year's Eve, No practice
• Saturday, January 1, New Year's Day, No Practice, Sabre Open at Medeo FC
• Sunday, January 2, Weapon-specific practice at Morris FC, Foil Open at Clinton FC, Epee Open at Bergen FC

Morris Hills Dual Meets Are Away

The varsity and junior varsity dual meets versus Morris Hills on Wednesday, December 22, are away meets, beginning at 6:30pm. Sorry for the late notice of the change. The Athletic Directors' office had it as a home meet on the original schedule provided to the coaching staff, but it never informed them when it was brought to the AD's attention in September.

Somerville Quad Schedule

On Saturday, December 18, 2010, the Mendham High School Varsity Boys' and Girls' Fencing Teams will compete against the varsity teams of Moorestown, Teaneck and Somerville in the 2010-11 season opening quadrangular meet.  The meet will be fenced college style on six strips.  College style means that all three weapons of a particular meet are competed simultaneously.  The meets listed below are the same for boys and girls, which will be fenced concurrently.  The named starters will each fence 8 bouts on the day.  The 4th will be substituted into each dual meet for a different starter.  Thus the 4th fencer will get three bouts on the day.

Bus leaves Mendham HS at 8:45am

Moorestown vs. Mendham 10:00am

Mendham vs. Teaneck 11:00am

Lunch break, supplied by MHS Fencing Parents' Association

Mendham vs. Somerville 2:30pm

Bus leaves Somerville to come home at 3:30pm.  The bus will take longer than usual to arrive back at Mendham HS because it will not go home past the Bridgewater Mall to avoid the holiday shopping traffic.  All fencers must make the round-trip on the bus.  There will be no exceptions to this policy. 

Western 3rd, KWallace and Zimmermann 5th; Andriatis 6th at Denise O'Connor HS Championships

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Jacobson 9th; Swanson 12th; Doyle and Boden 16th

December 11-12, Maplewood - The New Jersey Division of the US Fencing Association held the Denise O'Connor U-20 High School Championships at New Jersey Fencing Alliance.  24 fencers from Mendham High School competed for their respective fencing clubs.  The Championships drew under-20 fencers from Long Island, New York City, Westchester, Philadelphia, Southern Jersey and, of course, the strongest juniors from the New Jersey Division. Five of the six events were B-rated.

The standout Mendham HS performance was from Ryan Western who took a bronze medal in the Under-20 women's foil event while pushing the eventual champion to 13-15 in the semi-finals.  It was the most anybody scored on the eventual champion by far.  In addition, assistant captain Beatrice Jacobson, finished 9th in this event.  Jacobson was undefeated in pools. Western and Jacobson are clubmates at Morris Fencing Club in Randolph.  Freshman Emily Peters, also, gained valuable experience by competing.

In men's under-20 epee, Mendham had three top 16 finishes: Mark Zimmermann, Medeo Fencing Club of Bridgewater, 5th; freshman Alexander Andriatis, Morris FC, 6th; and Lars Swanson, Morris FC, 12th.   In addition, James Flanagan, team captain, competed in the event, finishing 23rd, as did James McManus.

In women's under-20 epee, Kaitlyn Wallace, dropped out with a strained hamstring after her  quarter-final bout. Therefore, she placed 5th on the strength of being the top seed coming out of the pools.  Lea Fuscaldo and Megan Wallace, also competed in the event. 

In men's under-20 foil, Kyle Doyle finished 16th. Adam Campos was 18th and Julian Campos was 22nd.  Also fencing from Mendham's program were Adam Pollack and Tom Myers.

In women's under-20 sabre, Mendham's Alexandra Boden, who finished in the top-16, was joined in the competition by freshman Meredith Gano.

Competing in men's under-20 sabre were Robin Rizal, freshman Mark Zawadiwsky, Kyle Persau, Michael Hasson, Joe Falvo and Jack Vitale.

The next events for the Mendham High School fencers will be side-by-side, college-style quadrangular meets for the girls' and boys' varsity teams at Somerville High School on Saturday, December 18, at 10:00am, which will open the high school season.  Mendham will compete against Teaneck, West Windsor-Plainsboro North and Somerville high schools.   The following week, Mendham hosts Morris Hills in varsity and junior varsity boys' and girls' dual meets in the big gym at 6:00pm on Wednesday, December 22.

Mendham HS Fencing's Next Two Weeks

Monday, December 13, F&S Practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm
Tuesday, December 14, E&S Practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm
Wednesday, December 15, F&E Practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm
Thursday, December 16, Sabre Practice in cafeteria, 4pm-6pm
Friday, December 17, All-Weapon Practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm; Pizza Party, 7:15-8:00pm
Saturday, December 18, Somerville Varsity Quad Meet, Bus Leaves 8:45am, Returns ~3:00pm
Sunday, December 19, No Practice at School (Junior Varsity Practice at Morris Fencing Club)

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Monday, December 20, F&S Practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm
Tuesday, December 21, E&S Practice in cafeteria, 5pm-7pm
Wednesday, December 22, Varsity & JV Home Meets in Big Gym hosting Morris Hills, 6pm; Set up beginning 5pm
Thursday, December 23, Sabre Practice in cafeteria, 4pm-6pm
Friday, December 24, Christmas Eve, No Practice
Saturday, December 25, Christmas, No Practice
Sunday, December 26, No Practice

4 Mendham Fencers Inducted into the National Honor Society

Thursday, Dec. 9, Mendham - The Mendham High School chapter of the National Honor Society held its annual induction ceremony last night for seniors.  The fencing program was well represented by the following four scholar-athletes: Elisabeth Donato, Kyle Doyle, James Flanagan and Beatrice Jacobson.

Morris Knolls Freshman-Sophomore Invitational Tournament

All freshmen and sophomores are expected to compete in the expanded, fifth annual Morris Knolls Freshman / Sophomore Invitational Tournament.  The tournament has been expanded to twelve schools with the addition of Chatham.  The tournament is on Thursday, December 30.  Any eligible fencer not competing must inform the coaching staff thru the Attendance E-mail link at the top of the weblog why they are not competing.  All upperclassmen will be refereeing, strip coaching or setting up strips. The freshman-sophomore bus will leave at 7:00am.

Fencers must register themselves for the tournament on FRED.  There is no cost.  Use one of the four links below to register for the tournament:

Choose the correct way for you to register based on your circumstances.

Freshmen new to FRED ------- Freshmen already in FRED

Sophomores new to FRED ----- Sophomores already in FRED

Observer-Tribune: Mendham Fencers Come On Strong at Tournament

In case you missed the sports section of the Observer-Tribune on Thursday, December 2, it carried an article about the team members' success at the Junior Olympic Qualification Tournaments.

Fencing Masters NYC on TV

The Fencing Masters NYC will be shown on TV this Sunday, December 5, at 12:00 noon on SNY-TV channel 78 on Comcast.

Designated Tournament: DO'C HS Championships

The Denise O'Connor High School Championships, held next weekend on December 11 and 12, are a Mendham High School Fencing designated tournament.  The term designated means the coaching staff expects all varsity fencers, as well as those who aspire to be varsity, to enter and compete in the Championships.

Register and pay here - Registration List - More Information

The regular entry fee period ends Tuesday, December 7.  Entry fees more than double after December 7 for online or walk-in registration.

Mendham boys registered: 16; Epee 6, Foil 5, Sabre 5

Mendham girls registered: 8; Epee 3, Foil 3, Sabre 2

Mendham fencers have qualified for an $80 reduction in entry fees because of the total number who have registered from our program under a policy instituted by the New Jersey Division of the USFA.  See the FRED more information page.  When we get up to 30 fencers from the current 24, you will earn another discount.

By Weapon Training at Morris Fencing Club

The first weekend training sessions by weapon at Morris FC are this Saturday, December 4, as follows:

2:00 Epee ----- 4:00 Foil ------ 6:00 Saber

These are regular training sessions for the Mendham High School Fencing program.  Attendance will be taken. 

Physical Training Liability Waiver and Info Sheet

The coaching staff of the Mendham High School Fencing program has unanimously chosen Peak Performance to lead us in physical training during the first part Friday's practices.  The training is being provided to all fencers by the Mendham HS Fencing Parents' Association. 

All fencers' parents must sign a liability waiver and return it to Alexandra Boden in school or Judith Kern, Alex's mom, along with an information sheet.