Foiler alert: Big upsets at fencing titles

Talk about shutting a door but opening a window.

While Great Neck South saw one fencing dynasty dismissed, it might have witnessed the birth of another.

Oyster Bay upended two-time champ Great Neck South, 14-13, to win the Nassau boys team championships, but the Rebels' girls team beat Garden City in a back-and-forth 14-12 win Saturday at Garden City. Two-time champ Garden City beat surprise contender Valley Stream District, 14-2, in the semis to advance to the finals.

Isabelle Thenor-Louis won the penultimate epee match to help seal the victory for the Rebels. "I didn't even know the score," Thenor-Louis said. "When everyone ran over to me, I thought, 'Oh, I just won that one.' "

Coach Robert Piraino thought he had a good team in his seventh season with South, but didn't know if they could become the first girls team in school history to win the county.

"We started the season thinking we were a top four team," Piraino said. "But once we got into the season, we realized there was no reason we couldn't win."

The Oyster Bay boys didn't think there was a reason they couldn't win, either, though the Baymen's struggle came down to the final epee bout. Junior Jack Greenfield, who was named the Nassau boys epee champion last week, knew the teams were evenly matched.

SEE PHOTOSNassau fencing championships

"We've always come close against South," Greenfield said. "It feels good to get rid of the Great Neck dynasty."

The championship is the first since 1990 for the Baymen, when assistant coach Chris Hammond was a player on that team. The last title before that was 1975, when head coach John Bruckner was a team captain.

"We took an early lead, then they caught up," Bruckner said. "It was tied 12-12, 13-13 and then, finally, Jack pulled off the win."

Now Bruckner has to hope events repeat themselves as his team faces off against five-time champ Ward Melville for the Long Island championship.

Said Bruckner: "Any given day, anything can happen."