Syosset girls fencer Maya Funatomi wins gold in epee at Brentwood Holiday Tournament
Syosset’s Maya Funatomi reacts to winning the girls epee final against Great Neck South’s Ashley Nguyen at the Brentwood boys and girls fencing holiday tournament on Saturday. Credit: Kathy M Helgeson
Syosset sophomore Maya Funatomi tossed her fencing mask aside, her eyes watering as her friends and teammates surrounded her.
She didn’t need consoling. She might’ve needed a pinch, though, to prove she was indeed living up in a world where she was the newest girls epee champion at the Brentwood Holiday Tournament Saturday.
“I finally got here,” Funatomi said. “This is my first time making the top eight, so this is big for me. All this hard work has finally paid off.”
Over 300 boys and girls fencers participated at Brentwood High School across the three weapon disciplines. Funatomi left pool play as the eighth seed, the lowest of all six champions. She traded eight touches with Great Neck South’s Ashley Nguyen before winning, 15-14, in a spectacular bout.
“I can’t believe I won gold,” Funatomi said. “I’m really thankful for everything and the coaches who supported me.”
It was another banner day for Syosset’s fencing teams as senior sabreist Esha Nayak, junior sabreist Sohan Shah and senior foilist Justin Guo all took gold for the program.
Nayak warmed up when she arrived but as the nine-hour competition took breaks, she opted for music — songs by “The Smiths” were played the most — to keep her focused.
That proved effective as she won gold for the fourth time since competing as a seventh grader.
“I was definitely relieved I was able to win and just happy I could send my senior year off strong,” Nayak said.
Guo struggled with hamstring and leg cramps — nearly calling for a medical timeout — but battled back from a seven-point deficit in the semifinal against Great Neck South’s Ryan Zhao before beating Ward Melville’s Yannik Reyes, 15-13 in the final.
“This is my favorite thing to do in my entire life,” Guo said. “I wake up, I want to fence. I live for these kinds of bouts where it’s close and I break through.”
Shah took on teammate Brandon Lim to win the boys sabre title, 15-14. He yelled out exactly what he had accomplished as he earned the final touch, “Back-to-back” as the only fencer to defend his title.
“It was a really good final on Brandon’s part,” Shah said. “Every time we practice it always gets hype, 14-14 all the time.”
Oyster Bay senior foilist Gabriella Sherlock came away with a long-awaited gold medal, having lost in the finals in each of the last two years. She defeated Manhasset’s Kate Duncan, 15-6, and won nine of the first 10 touches.
“It feels amazing,” Sherlock said. “I was struggling a little bit in the semifinals and quarterfinals because it’s so hot in [the gym]. But it feels great to secure that gold senior season.”
The final gold of the day went to epeeist Max Tse of Great Neck South, who defeated teammate Amir Karimov 15-9.
“Amir is a great fencer and one of my best friends,” Tse said. “I need to be very careful what I do, because he knows what my weaknesses are.”
Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.
