Jericho fencing blends youth and experience

As one of Jericho’s top fencers nears graduation, two others are just getting their careers started.

Senior Marc Siegel leads the team and is joined by eighth-graders Matthew Gavieta and Bennett Cohen.

Siegel had a strong season last year in sabre, and will be tasked with providing veteran leadership for a young Jericho squad.

“Marc has been an invaluable asset to the team,” Jericho coach Seth Skolnick said. “[Siegel] has been a great leader…for several years. I often quickly show Marc a drill and ask him to…run the drill for the sabre team.”

Skolnick added that eighth-grader Gavieta, who is also on sabre, “has benefited greatly by having a teammate like Marc.”

Jericho lost a pair of individual county champions in Jason Landsman and Eric Basile, both of whom were All-Long Island fencers in 2013, meaning more will be asked of Siegel this season.

So far, the senior has shown he is up to the challenge.

Siegel is 5-1 this season and also reached the Round of the 32 at December’s Brentwood Holiday Tournament, losing to eventual champion David Austin of Commack.

Gavieta joins Siegel to form a strong duo in sabre, and though this is the eighth-grader’s first season on varsity, Skolnick expects big things from him.

He has already received a national rating from the United States Fencing Association, and also earned a bye after pool play at his debut Brentwood Invitational last month.

Fellow eighth grader Cohen enters his second season on varsity as one of the team’s top epee fencers. Cohen is nationally-rated and currently has a 3-0 record.

Kevin Le is Jericho’s epee captain, and played a role in the team’s dramatic win over Great Neck North in December. Trailing 3-1, Le came back to win his bout 4-3 in overtime.

Tenth-grader Max Rudolph is the boys foil captain, making him the first underclassman captain that Skolnick has coached at Jericho. Rudolph is another player Skolnick expects much from.

Jericho girls feature talented sabre trio

The Jericho girls team will be strong in sabre this season, and features junior Winnie Luk, who finished seventh at this season’s Brentwood Invitational, as well as senior Kelly Jung and junior Michelle Rangel.

In foil, junior Tracy Jung returns after leading the girls in wins in 2012-13 and Sharron Song has won the majority of her bouts so far this season.

The girls epee team has potential as well, and Skolnick says epee fencers Vicki Lam and tenth-grader Alexa Garber “are both showing nice promise.”