Newsday's top 15 girls fencers for 2025-26
Sophie Chen of Newfield advances in a foil match at the Suffolk boys and girls team fencing championships at Centereach on Feb. 6, 2025. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
Newsday's annual list of the top 15 girls fencers across Long Island, listed in alphabetical order, as the 2025-26 season continues. All stats listed are from last season unless otherwise noted.
Riley Baehr, Oyster Bay, Sabre, Sr.
Baehr, a six-year varsity athlete, went 22-6 as a junior. She’ll be a captain.
Shelly Banegas, Lindenhurst, Sabre, Sr.
Suffolk fencing will welcome Banegas back this winter after an ACL injury sidelined her. Banegas took silver as a sophomore at Suffolk’s individual tournament, going 27-9.
Adriana Chan, Manhasset, Sabre, Sr.
Chan won over 80% of her matches for Manhasset, going 22-4. She placed 14th among 56 competing epeeists at the Brentwood Holiday Tournament.
Sophie Chen, Newfield/Miller Place, Foil, Jr.
A perennial contender for Suffolk’s foil title, Chen went 37-1 as a sophomore and took silver at the individual tournament.
Chelsea Drummings, Huntington/Harborfields, Sabre, Jr.
With a 19-11 record, Drummings (19-11) earned a bronze medal at Suffolk’s individual tournament.
Julia Goodwin, Huntington/Harborfields, Sabre, Jr.
Boasting a 25-8 record, Goodwin makes up a strong sabre team for Huntington/Harborfields amid an impressive junior class.
Allie Harrison, Ward Melville, Sabre, Jr.
No Suffolk sabreist returns with a higher overall win percentage than Harrison’s 91.43%. She went 32-3, took fourth at the individual tournament and will look to help the Patriots defend its county title after the program graduated eight seniors.
Allie Harrison (right) of Ward Melville.
Chloe Hu, Jericho, Epee, Jr.
Hu went 20-6 as a sophomore, helping Jericho win 11 meets. She’ll look to lead the Jayhawks back to the county final.
Claudia Lee, Hewlett, Epee, Sr.
Boasting a 20-2 record as a junior, Lee looks to retake the county epee crown she held as a sophomore. She’ll lead a Hewlett program that could surprise people after suffering numerous one-bout losses in 2024-25.
Claudia Lee (right) of Hewlett. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Alexa Lim, Syosset, Sabre, Sr.
A bronze medalist at the Brentwood Holiday Tournament a year ago, Lim helped Syosset girls fencing lift its first Long Island title.
Elisa Lin, Lindenhurst, Sabre, Jr.
Lin returns having placed sixth in the Suffolk individual tournament and figures to compete for a medal this winter. She went 26-10 overall.
Esha Nayak, Syosset, Sabre, Sr.
Nayak went 19-5, winning gold at the Nassau individual tournament and helping lead Syosset to its first LI team title.
Esha Nayak of Syosset. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
Gabriella Sherlock, Oyster Bay, Foil, Jr.
Arguably the best varsity fencer on Long Island, Sherlock is a back-to-back Nassau foil champion who also won all 23 of her regular-season bouts.
Gabriella Sherlock of Oyster Bay. Credit: Kathy M Helgeson
Olivia Voskov, Wheatley/Roslyn, Epee, Fr.
Both the future and present is bright for Voskov, who went 22-2 as an eighth-grader. She also took bronze at Nassau’s individual tournament.
Winona Zheng, Syosset, Sabre, 8th
Yet another budding Syosset star, Zheng impressed as a seventh-grader by winning all 18 of her regular-season bouts. She took ninth at the Brentwood Holiday Tournament and sixth at the individual tournament.
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.
