Blue Devil Fencers Honor Seniors
The Huntington High School boys' and girls' fencing teams are fiercely loyal to one another. They're proud of each other's accomplishments, too. So, when the Blue Devils held their annual Senior Day festivities, it was a heartfelt display of affection for a very special group of teenagers.
Huntington celebrated its most senior members prior to a tri-meet that pitted the Blue Devils against powerful squads from Ward Melville and Walt Whitman. The girls' team honored seniors Kelly Askerberg, Maggie Askerberg, Andrea Cerini, Taylor Choy, Katia DeSimone, Carly Glowacky, Marisa Pashkin, Katelyn Postiglione, Joey Tuozzo, and Anna Wertheim.
The Blue Devil boys' squad recognized its seniors, too, including Brent Filippini and Scott Garofalo, Joseph Rizzi, James Ferraiolo and Richard Hermer-Fried.
The Senior Day meet against Ward Melville saw sophomores Kaitlin Dayton and Hanae Wada win 5-4 foil bouts. Freshmen Elisa Medina-Jaudes and Bailey Riordan and seventh grader Lianna DeChiaro all won epee matches. The Patriots topped Huntington in the team score, 21-6 to give the Blue Devils a final regular season record of 10-4.
Ward Melville's boys' team edged Huntington, 16-11 in a hard fought match that was tied, 8-8 before the Patriots pulled away. Blue Devil seniors Brent Filippini and Scott Garafolo each won two saber matches. Seniors Jimmy Ferraiolo and Ricky Hermer-Fried contributed a pair of victories in epee. Senior Joseph Rizzi was 1-1 in foil. Huntington closed the regular season with an 8-6 mark.
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Huntington's girls bested Walt Whitman, 19-8 as senior twin sisters Kelly (saber) and Maggie (foil) Askerberg were both 3-0 in their respective weapons. Junior Brianna Kirkland went 3-0 in foil. Carly Glowacky clinched the meet with her victory in the second round.
Huntington's boys also battled their way past Walt Whitman, 17-10. All five Blue Devil seniors went undefeated in the meet. Filippini clinched the meet with his third round win.
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The Huntington girls' fencing team traveled to Centereach and walked away with a 25-2 victory. Head coach Alan Kuver called it "a strong day as the team rounds into post-season form."
Seniors Katia DeSimone and Kelly Askerberg were 3-0 in saber. Seniors Maggie Askerberg (3-0) and Taylor Choy (2-0) went undefeated in foil. Senior Carly Glowacky, sophomore Mary Sheehan and eighth grader Tea Khokhar were all 3-0 in epee. Sophomore Kaitlin Dayton had the match of the day as a sub against Centereach fencer Helen Moore, a returning county finalist and third at Brentwood Holiday Tournament this year. With outstanding point control the Huntington fencer controlled the match throughout and won 5-3.
Huntington's boys' fencers also won, capturing a 14-13 verdict. On a day that saw Huntington get off to a slow start, the Blue Devils finally took a lead they would never relinquish in the meet's 25th match with senior Ricky Hermer-Fried's 5-1 win. It was the team's first advantage since being up 1-0.
After junior James Montefusco's tight loss 5-4 loss, senior James Ferriaolo continued his outstanding season with a pressure-packed 5-4 win to clinch the meet. Sophomore Kyle Meit a sub in the final round, had a crucial 5-3 win in saber 5-3 to narrow Huntington's deficit to 11-10. Senior Brent Filippini was 3-0 in saber. Senior Joe Rizzi went 3-0 in foil, winning his last match to keep the Blue Devils within a point at 12-11. Sophomore Garrett Filippini won his only match of the day in the last round to tie the score at 12-12. Senior James Ferraiolo was 3-0 in epee.
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The Huntington girls' fencing team cruised past Half Hollow Hills, 18-9. Senior Taylor Choy clinched the meet with her third round win. Senior Carly Glowacky and sophomore Mary Sheehan each went 3-0 in epee while eighth grader Tea Khokhar was 2-1 in epee as the epee squad was 8-1 on the day.
The Huntington boys' fencing squad earned a 17-10 victory over Half Hollow Hills. Seniors James Ferraiolo and Ricky Hermer-Fried and junior James Montefusco each went 3-0 epee to lead that squad to a 9-0 finish on the day. Senior Joe Rizzi was 3-0 in foi, and clinched the meet with his final round win.