Ward Melville girls, boys win LI fencing titles

Before the bouts began, before Ward Melville girls fencing claimed its ninth consecutive Long Island Championship, the PA system in the Garden City gym blared music from the movie "Space Jam." It couldn't have been more fitting.

In the flick, Michael Jordan leads a group of underdogs against a dominant squad of aliens. The extraterrestrials have the abilities of the world's best basketball players and none of their flaws.

It's similar to the Ward Melville girls, who've developed a well-earned reputation for being overpowering. They've built a dynasty behind 128 consecutive wins. By contrast, the Garden City girls fencing team went into last night hoping not to repeat as runners-up.

Jordan's team wins in the film. Garden City wasn't as fortunate.

Fending off a late charge, Ward Melville (14-0) won the L.I. championship, 14-6.

After finding themselves in a 12-2 hole, the Trojans (11-1) made a push for the title, winning four straight bouts.

But Ward Melville won the next bout and ninth-grader Alexa Antipas, in her first year of varsity, stepped on the strip to try to close it out.

"My friends were very disappointed and I wanted to do my job and win the championship for them," she said.

Antipas won her sabre bout, 5-0, eliciting screams from the Ward Melville team, which mobbed her. One of those celebrating was her sister, Demi, herself unbeaten in foil for the Patriots.

"She kept telling me before the match to relax and just focus," Alexa said. "We wanted the family to stay undefeated."

Patriots boys four-peat. In a match that was more like a rerun, the Ward Melville boys (14-0) defeated Great Neck South, 14-1, for the second consecutive year in the L.I. championship. It is the Patriots' fourth straight L.I. title.

Sophomore John Petrie won the deciding foil bout, 5-2."All our hard work this year paid off," he said. "The intensity is what keeps us winning."

Danny Qiao was the only winner of the night for Great Neck South (11-1) in epee. This is the third straight time South has faced the Patriots for the L.I. title.

"I know how good their system is," said Qiao, a junior who transferred to South from Half Hollow Hills East two years ago. "We just hope we did our job representing how good fencing is in Nassau."