Millburn Fencers Swept in Livingston

The Livingston Lancer boys and girls fencing teams fended off late rallies from the Miller boys and girls on Thursday afternoon. The Lancer boys came away with a narrow 14-13 win over Millburn, and the Lady Lancers prevailed 15-12.

Lancer Josh Kim went into his third match in the Epee against Millburn's Joseph Caulfield, having lost his first two bouts against the Miller earlier in the contest. But this time would be different. Kim, who ended up picking up the only epee win of the day for the Lancer boys, stepped up when it counted most. With his team up 13-12, needing just to win one of the next two bouts to earn a win, Kim put together a 5-2 performance, earning Livingston the win.

"What was key for us is that we never quit," said Livingston boys head coach Larry Weckstein. "We had some very, very close matches that we lost and some very close ones that we won. What's real important in fencing is that every single bout counts."

While the Millers dominated the epee, going 8-1 in the nine bouts, they were winless in the saber and went 5-4 in the foil. Millburn began the dual meet behind the eight ball, losing their first four bouts of the day. The Blue and White boys, however, battled and got within one point of the lead on multiple occasions. But it seemed that anytime they generated any momentum, the saber bouts would come up again and Livingston would regain control of the match.

"Their saber team was real strong against us today and so we didn't win the few bouts we needed," said Millburn boys head coach Robert Baum. "We lost a few 5-4 bouts, but I was still very pleased with my team's effort. I thought Livingston fenced great. So you know, I'm disappointed but I'm still happy with the team. They did a good job."

The Miller girls dug themselves into too deep of a hole last night in Livingston when they fell behind 9-3. Livingston used an 8-1 advantage in the foil and a 5-3 advantage in the saber to help put this one away.

"We came out strong, and then I saw a little relaxation because they felt like they were going to get the win," said Livingston girls head coach Margaret Weckstein. "Then at the end I felt like we really had to work, but we pulled it off, so that was good."

At one point in the contest Livingston was ahead 12-4, just two points away from claiming a win. But, to their credit, Millburn did not go easily. The Blue and White girls got as close as 13-10 before Livingston closed the door on their comeback chance.

"I saw them comeback with a lot of heart. Unfortunately, one of the fencers that we have is a new fencer," said Millburn girls head coach Gus De La Llave. "So it was her first varsity match of the year and she didn't have the type of experience to go up against that lineup."

Both Lauren Mullen and Kelly Ng were a perfect 3-0 against Millburn in the foil. Wendy Wang and Shirley Shang went 2-1 in the saber for Livingston.

Both Livingston teams improved to 1-0, while both Millburn teams fell to 1-1. The Lancers, Millers and most of the other fencing schools in the state will be involved in either the Cetrullo Tournament for boys on Saturday or the Santelli Tournament for girls on Sunday. The results of the tournaments helps to determine individual and team seeding for the remainder of the season.

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