Columbia HS boys’ and girls’ fencing teams finish second in state tournaments

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MAPLEWOOD, NJ – The Columbia High School  boys’ and girls’ fencing teams placed second in the championship matches of the 2016-2017 NJSIAA state boys’ and girls’ team tournaments held at Morris Hills HS in Rockaway on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

The CHS girls were defeated in the finals by Bergen Tech, 14-12.

In the first round, Columbia had a close lead of 5-4 with saber fencer Brianna Stellini, and foil fencers Marissa Viqueira and Camile Pham all winning their bouts convincingly. Isabelle Wendt and Ana Cowie kept up the strong fencing in epee to win both their first round bouts.

Saber’s Laura Spanier, foil’s Viqueira, and epee’s Wendt and Cowie all added to Columbia’s score with their wins, bringing the score to 9-9 by the end of the second round. With the pressure really on, Columbia’s Sophia Heriveaux went into the third round with much determination and her saber blazing to win her bout. Viqueira continued to not allow her opponents to make touches on her with her aggressive high level fencing, and Wendt held strong for epee, winning her final bout.

The boys’ fencing team was defeated by St.Peter’s Prep, 14-10.

Columbia’s strong foil team gave CHS a close lead of 5-4 after the first round with Tran Sole-Torres, Luke Moramarco, and Jack Woods all winning their bouts. Matt Rothenberg and Adam DeBowy also won their bouts in saber and epee respectively in the first round.

St. Peter’s Prep’s saber team proved too strong for Columbia in the second and third rounds, and the CHS foil fencers kept up their strong fencing. Woods won all of his bouts, taking down his A strip opponent in 15 seconds. Soles-Torres and Moramarco each only dropped one bout on the night. All three epee fencers fought hard with the high pressure 4-4 score in the second round, with only Josh Abdill winning his second round bout.

Earlier in the week, the CHS boys’ team defeated Montclair Kimberley Academy 14-5.

  Columbia High School fencing