Ward Melville boys, girls fencers top Whitman

The Ward Melville boys and girls fencing teams took care of business against Whitman Wednesday, with the boys winning, 22-5, and the girls coming out on top, 21-6.

The Ward Melville boys' starting foil squad of Michael Antipas, Devon Reina and Matt Petrie went 9-0. "We executed, paid attention and fenced clean," coach Jennie Salmon said. "They did a great job of staying focused and maintaining composure."

Salmon complimented Whitman's sophomore epeeist Tom Ferrante, who defeated reigning county champion Jake Goldberg, 5-4. "[Goldberg] is one of the best epeeists in the county and epee is the most unpredictable weapon in fencing," Salmon said. "Jake is definitely looking forward to going against Tom again, though."

On the girls side, junior Melanie Holl upset Whitman's Alex Alpy, the epee champion at last week's Brentwood Tournament. "They are both very good fencers, and Melanie was excited for the bout," Salmon said. "In epee if you get first couple of touches you can maintain a lead. She kept the pressure on but at the same time stayed patient and waited for her moments."

Ward Melville also received stellar fencing from sophomore Angela Zhang, who went 2-0 in foil and has become adept at analyzing each opponent despite her youth. The starting sabre squad of Alexa Antipas, Alexa Rohan and Casey Sharpin were 6-0 for the afternoon.