Remarkable Performances at Fencing Relay Carnival
The Blue Devil fencing program hosted eight schools at the 17th annual Huntington Relay Carnival in Louis D. Giani Gymnasium during a day that featured a series of remarkable performances.
The event involved more than 350 male and female athletes competing in six open and six novice events. "It was a good day for Huntington with five finalists in the open events, including a champion and silver medal squad and two novice champions," head coach Alan Kuver said.
Men's epee was one of the brightest spots on the day for the Blue Devils. Freshmen Jack O'Heir and Stefano Ornato and sophomore Derek Wolf shined with 44-41 and 45-23 victories en route to the novice championship.
Huntington's men's epee "B" squad consisting of juniors Ben Nikodem and Donovan Richardson and sophomore Lucas Vaccaro started the day with a 45-43 win over the Half Hollow Hills varsity squad. After a loss to second seeded Ward Melville, the Blue Devils rebounded with a win over Walt Whitman, 45-44. In their final match of the day, Huntington "B" worked well together and had the match tied before the Brentwood varsity pulled out a 45-43 win. The sixth place finish put the team ahead of four varsity squads. Kuver called it "a remarkable job."
The Blue Devil varsity epee squad of seniors James Ferraiolo and Ricky Hermer-Fried and junior James Montefusco saved the best for last. Seeded No. 1, they defeated Centereach and Commack, 45-34 and 45-41, respectively, to reach the final round. Tied 29-all after the first six matches, Montefusco held serve with a 4-4 encounter. Hermer-Fried then had a pivotal round, besting his opponent 3-0 to bring the score to 36-33. Ferraiolo continued his outstanding season with another win against defending county individual epee champion Jake Goldberg, 9-8 to clinch the championship for the Blue Devils, 45-41.
"This was the second epee championship for James Ferraiolo and Ricky Hermer-Fried, matching the championship they earned with Jimmy's older brother John Ferraiolo two years earlier," Kuver said.
H-ton Foil Squad Impressive
The Huntington men's varsity foil squad of senior Joseph Rizzi, junior Nick Freiman and sophomores Elias Goldman and Garrett Filippini, entered the day seeded fifth and marched right into the semi-finals with wins over Commack-B (45-43) and Newfield (45-20).
In Round of Four, the Blue Devils gave eventual champion Ward Melville its toughest match of the day in a 45-30 loss. In the bronze medal match, Huntington fell to Walt Whitman in a close match, 42-45. On the day, Rizzi notched 72 touches while only getting hit 30 times for a positive 42 indicator.
The novice foil team of freshmen Dylan Collier and Jack Malone, eighth grader Sean Mello, and seventh grader Casey DiGiacomo earned a spot in the novice final with a win Centereach, 45-37. In the finals, Huntington fell to Walt Whitman, 45-35.
Saber Squad Starts Strong
The Huntington men's saber squad started the day off well, defeating Ward Melville-B, 45-29. The team of seniors Brent Filippini and Scot Garofalo and sophomore Kyle Meit later suffered tough losses at the hands of Centereach (45-38), Half Hollow Hills (45-28) and Walt Whitman (45-43) to finish in eighth place.
Huntington-B, consisting of juniors Darius Nash, Brian McConnell and Brandon May, dropped its first match to Concord-Carlisle of Massachusetts, 45-32 before rebounding to top Centereach-B, 45-28. The Blue Devils fell to Newfield, 45-29 and finished the day in 11th place.
In the novice division, eighth graders Sam Prinzi and Armand Alayon and seventh grader Lars Drace placed fourth.
Saber Leads HHS Women Fencers
The saber squad led Huntington's women's fencers at the relay carnival. Seniors Katia DeSimone, Kelly Askerberg and Andre Cerini and freshman Irina DeSimone were seeded third. They defeated Concord-Carlisle, 45-21 to set-up a match against vaunted Ward Melville-B.
With two nationally ranked fencers, the task looked daunting, but the ladies prevailed," Kuver said. "Down a touch at 30-29 going into the last three rounds, Katia DeSimone outscored her opponent 6-2 to give the squad a lead they would not relinquish, 35-32." Askerberg followed with a 6-5 verdict and handed a 40-38 lead to Irina DeSimone, who fenced to a 5-5 tie to seal at 45-43 victory.
Huntington next faced Ward Melville's varsity squad, but two consecutive upsets were just too much to ask for and the Blue Devils settled for a silver medal. It was the best finish ever for a Huntington girls' saber team in the carnival.
Huntington-B's squad consisting of senior Joey Tuozzo, junior Rachel Feltman and sophomores Olivia Castillo and Fiona Geier, lost its first two matches before winning its final contest to finish in 11th place. The novice squad of sophomore Charlotte Levinson, freshman Kelly Tenbus, eighth grader Lydia Witt and seventh grader Adina Kirkland lost its first match and won its second to finish third.
Foil Takes Fourth
The varsity women's foil squad of seniors Maggie Askerberg, Marisa Pashkin and Taylor Choy and junior Brianna Kirkland won its first match against Half Hollow Hills, 54-44 to advance to the semi-final round where it lost to Ward Melville. The bronze medal bout saw Huntington fall to Commack in a closely fought match, 45-43.
The Huntington-B foil team of sophomores Kaitlin Dayton and Ruhi Shah and freshmen Annalise Mozer and Hanae Wada lost its first match, won its second and fell in its third to finish in 10th place.
The novice foil squad of sophomores Cristina Bateman and Kaitlin Wascher, freshman Melany Lanthan-Ciancia and seventh grader Emma Reilly won both of its matches to clinch the novice championship. Wascher led the team with 43 touches scored to only 20 given up for a differential of +23.
Epee Finishes Fourth
The Blue Devil women's epee squad of seniors Carly Glowacky, Anna Wertheim and Katelyn Postiglione and junior Haley Miller won its first two matches to advance to the semi-finals where it lost to eventual champion Commack, 45-30.
In the bronze medal match, Huntington trailed Concord-Carlisle before an outstanding eighth encounter that saw Wertheim go on a 10-2 run to bring her team from a 32-25 deficit to a 35-34 lead. Unfortunately, the Blue Devils ended up falling 43-39 to finish in fourth place.
The Huntington-B team consisting of sophomore Mary Sheehan, freshman Elisa Medina-Jaudes and eighth grader Tateana Khokhar lost a pair of close matches before rebounding to top Centereach and finish 11th.
The novice epee squad of sophomores Jaclyn Bacik and Erica Thermidor, freshman Bailey Riordan and seventh grader Lianna DeChiaro won their first match before falling in the final to finish second.