After the final bout, the crowd held their breath and turned their attention to the referee. He gestured the win to South––and the crowd erupted. But for the fencing team, it was just another day at a meet, adding to their undefeated streak. With six consecutive County Championships and three Long Islands titles, Great Neck South’s fencing team has established itself as one of the most dominant teams on Long Island.
In 2024, the team saw one of its most successful seasons yet. The boys and girls fencing teams became Long Island Champions––making this the first time in history for both teams to seize the championship in the same season.
Junior co-captain of the girls fencing team, Justina Hom, attributes the success of the team to training outside of school: like many of her teammates, Hom practices and attends club meets in the off-season.
“All of the members who make the team train at clubs but also attend winter practices in school,” Hom said. “If you are competitive at the clubs, you also train all year round, which helps to gain experience for the season.”
Dylan Kim, senior co-captain of the boys fencing team, also believes in the importance of preparing for the season outside of school.
“We are very well versed in how top national fencers fence,” Kim said. “At North Shore, they’re fencing with A-rated fencers. And at East Coast [Fencing Club], I am fencing with Junior Olympic medalists.”
While many athletes on the team are already well-established fencers, newcomers also join during tryouts. About 40 hopefuls try out each year. Although new fencers are not guaranteed a starting position, they return every year having improved significantly from the previous season. This continuous development ensures that the lineup is not only competitive but also well-prepared to adapt to any challenges throughout the season.
Mr. Joshua Baravarian has coached the boys fencing team for fifteen years. He emphasized the importance of looking at future seasons when building a lineup for the boys fencing team.
“I’m looking at this year, but I’m also looking at next year [and] the year after,”
coach Baravarian said. “We’re looking for athleticism, good footwork, [and] good hand-eye coordination for those who had no experience in fencing. It’s building a team so that next year we have people in position to start.”
As someone who helped with tryouts this year, Kim also highlighted the importance of having team spirit.
“I want people who get through the exercises but also people who are fun to be around. They have to feel like a teammate before they’re on the team,” Kim said.
Captains are also responsible for leading practices. Practice starts with a 10-minute jump rope warm-up, followed by 8-10 minutes of stretching. Afterward, the team spends 10-15 minutes on footwork and other drills. Once the strips are set up, everyone fences for the rest of the session. Those not fencing on the strip work on the side with more experienced fencers. However, Kim and Hom credited the collaborative environment in practices as the source of the team’s success.
“We just work with each other. You give them advice on their fencing; they give you advice for your fencing. I don’t think our practice is super unique, but I think we do train hard, and that definitely makes a difference, [which]separates us from other teams,” Kim said.
Ms. Catherine Sagevick has been coaching fencing at Great Neck South for 11 years. She realized that stagnancy causes a lack of growth; the team learns from other schools and implements new techniques consistently. For example, the team replaced a 10-minute jog with jump rope this season, which helped with the athletes’ cardio, footwork, and stamina.
“We’re always changing the way that we practice and train. We’re always looking for the next evolution,” coach Baravarain said.
With the competitive experiences gained from clubs, seasoned decisions made by coaches, and unwavering dedication from athletes, Hom credits the success of the fencing program to her teammates and coaches.
“We all have the motivation to do well, our coaches push us to do well, and we push each other to do well,” Hom said.
