Last week I had the pleasure of taking in an afternoon of Portledge fencing. It was a Varsity & JV match contested in both foil and epee against Rye Country Day. The Lower School gym was buzzing with excitement as I entered from the balcony door, and as I looked below to the white parquet floor there were dozens of individuals dressed in white outfits shuffling back and forth. Some had masks on and were involved in actual matches , while others were standing alongside the long match mats to cheer their teammates on. To me, the camaraderie of the sport was the most unique aspect of this new experience. All the Portledge fencers were very supportive of one another and were just as happy to see a teammate be successful as to fence themselves. I wound up thinking to myself that this is a perfect sport for Portledge. It fits the character of our school to a tee.
Portledge was defeated in both boys and girls foil, as well as in epee, on this day, yet it did not damper anyone's attitude as all the fencers gathered for some post match pizza compliments of the Phipps family. Quick note of thanks goes out to Mr.Phipps-whether it's cross country or fencing, he is always there supporting the Panthers and usually feeding them too. Thanks so much for your dedication, the students and athletic department really appreciate your efforts.
Who Are Some of the Top Girls and Boys Fencers at Portledge?
The girls foil team is captained by Anna Avalone and Mr. Johnson, the Head Coach of the Fencing Program, reports that Anna is always good for a few victories during a long match of interscholastic fencing. Haley and Jessica Tynes, although both currently injured, are also up and coming fencers on the girls foil squad. The boys foil group is quite deep with Junior captains
Matt Ardito and Farone Rasheed leading the way. Rookies Niko Snow and 7th grader Evan Solomon have both been very impressive in the early season matches. In the case of Solomon this is no surprise, since Evan has done a lot of competitive fencing before coming to Portledge this fall. We are glad to have him as part of Portledge fencing, and we hope he has a long and distinguished career as a Panther swordsman. Although he is a junior, Ashwin Chichwadkar is new to the sport and according to Mr. Johnson " a natural fencer". So we will be watching "Shwink's" development as the year goes on. The combination of Junior Nick Hagedorn and Freshman Alan Phipps has made the Panther's epee squad one of the best in the entire independent school fencing league. Epee varies slightly from foil in the way that points can be scored during a match. If you want to learn more about the technicalities of fencing, or you just want to see some action, come on down to the Lower School Gym one afternoon and check out the Panthers. I think that you will find something quite unique, as I did on my visit. Good luck to the fencing team as they prepare for the individual and team championships coming up in February.
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