Greenfield clinches title for Oyster Bay
Jack Greenfield of Oyster Bay, left, battles Great Neck South's Alex Hall in the second round of epee during the Nassau County varsity boys fencing team championships. (Feb. 11, 2012) Credit: James Escher
Drama has a way of finding Oyster Bay senior Jack Greenfield, and the fencer has a knack for thriving under the pressure.
For the second consecutive season, Greenfield was in the deciding 27th bout of the county championship meet, and again broke a tie at 13 as he beat Great Neck South's Joshua Graber, 5-2, to win the Nassau team title for Oyster Bay.
"It feels pretty much like last year except this one's a little more special because I'm a senior," Greenfield said. "I'm really excited to leave on such a high note."
Oyster Bay beat Great Neck South, 14-13, in a rematch of last year's title meet, earning its second consecutive title Saturday at Garden City.
The Manhasset girls managed to come from behind in both the semifinal and final to win the team title. Manhasset topped host Garden City, 14-12, in the final after trailing 7-6 early. Epee fencer Stephanie Ying clinched the crown for Manhasset with a 5-1 victory in the final.
"It's so awesome," Ying said. "It's so good to be able to help my team."
In the boys semifinals, No. 1 Oyster Bay handled No. 5 Manhasset, 14-7, behind Nick LaRosa's two wins in foil and Matt LaRossa's two wins in sabre. The other semifinal between No. 2 Great Neck South and No. 6 Great Neck North gave each team one last chance to upend its rival and featured the bout of the day.
Graber was again involved, and came back from a 4-0 deficit with 20 seconds left to force overtime, and won the bout, 5-4. That gave South a 6-1 lead in its 14-4 semifinal victory.
"I feel when I get down like that, my adrenaline builds and I just get focused," Graber said. "It's the sixth time I've come from behind like that in the final 30 seconds this year. so it's pretty exciting."
In the girls semifinals, No. 2 Garden City took care of No. 3 Oyster Bay, 14-6, and No. 1 Manhasset edged No. 5 Valley Stream, 14-13. Manhasset advanced to the final when Caroline Juang won the epee bout that broke the tie at 13.
"When I'm in the zone, I fence well," Juang said. "I knew that it was important for my team."
Oyster Bay boys and Manhasset girls will compete in the Long Island fencing championships Tuesday against Ward Melville boys and Ward Melville girls at Wheatley.
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'Success is zero deaths on the roadway' Newsday reporters spent this year examining the risks on Long Island's roads, where traffic crashes over a decade killed more than 2,100 people and seriously injured more than 16,000. This documentary is a result of that newsroom-wide effort.
