With National Tournaments on the Horizon, Ridge Fencers Duel Past West Morris Central

The Ridge boys and girls fencing teams were both victorious on Thursday afternoon against West Morris Central, with the girls final score coming to 15-12 and the boys final score coming to 16-11. The girls team improved to 7-4 with the victory and the boys team improved to 8-3.

Both fencing teams' winning seasons can be at least partially attributed to a few individuals on both the boys and girls teams. Three fencers recently qualified for the Junior Olympics for the Ridge boys, and the Ridge girls boast one Junior Olympian as well.

Ben Loft, a junior who competes in the saber event, was among the three boys who qualified for the Junior Olympics. Loft won his first match of the day against West Morris, 5-0, to bring the Ridge boys up 1-0 to start the match.  

"I've been fencing since I was 10," said Loft. "I compete in a lot of national tournaments. I placed in the top 32 in a national tournament, and that qualified me for the Junior Olympics."

Jonathan Wong, a senior who favors the epee, is also a Junior Olympian. A 5-4 win by Wong brought Ridge up to a 5-3 against West Morris.

"I was really surprised about my improvement over the last year. I've been trying to get mentally psyched and I've been practicing a lot more, now I am feeling confident that I can do well," said Wong.

Wong won his second bout of the day as well to bring the Ridge boys up 12-4, only two wins away from securing a win against West Morris.

Connor Pelos, a sophomore who competes in the epee, was the third member of the boys team to qualify for the Junior Olympics.

"I improved a lot over the summer. Last year I was ok, but not great," said Pelos.

The Ridge girls started the day off with a quick three point lead, winning four out of their first five bouts, but West Morris fought back, winning three of the next five bouts, bringing the score to 5-4.

In the girls next bout, Ridge junior Rachel Swanwick easily won, 5-0, to bring the Ridge girls up 6-4. A few bouts later, Katherine Simeon, the senior girls saber competitor who recently qualified for the Junior Olympics made quick work of her opponent, fighting gracefully and elegantly for a score of 5-1.

"I'm really excited. I was really surprised I qualified. Walking in, I had no expectations for myself…I just wanted to do my best, and it worked out," said Simeon of the recent tournament which propelled her to the Junior Olympics.

It was another victory from Swanwick, again 5-0, that secured the win for the Ridge girls over West Morris, bringing the score to 14-7 with six bouts remaining for the girls. Jack Cooney won the 14th bout for the boys, 5-1, also bringing the Ridge boys up 14-7 over West Morris with six bouts remaining.

Other highlights from the day include Tim Gasiano, a junior, winning his foil matches, Sarah Stein winning an epee bout 5-2 at a crucial time in the match when the Ridge girls did not hold a large lead and Cooper Pearson helping the Ridge boys off to a strong start by winning his first foil match 3-2.

Both the Ridge boys and girls teams will be looking to repeat their successes from last season, in which the boys won the state championship and the girls made it to the state finals.

The teams will both be competing this Saturday, Jan. 30, at 8 a.m. for the district championships at Hackettstown High School.