This spring, the girls varsity fencing team closed its season with a gold medal finish by its epee team, one of its two subteams, at the May 17 city championships at Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus. The epee team, which differs from the foil team in that its discipline allows players to score touches on any body part rather than just the torso, is composed of freshman Sofia Faylayev, sophomore Catherine (Cay) Hsu, junior captain Sunny Chen, and senior Sonia Ghanny. 

In the regular season, the girls epee team went undefeated with a 10-0 record. In every in-division game, the epee team kept its competitors at or under 30 total touches, demonstrating excellent defense in addition to its strong offense.

In a previous interview with The Classic, Coach Diane Ramirez spotlighted several members of the championship team. She said, “On epee, Catherine ‘Cay’ Hsu has been lethal, but I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention Sunny Chen’s leadership and Sofia Faylayev’s fresh, aggressive instinct.”

Leading up to city championships, the epee team practiced consistently both inside and outside of school. 

Sunny said that at team practices, players ensured “that everyone fenced each other at least once before they could fence with someone for the second time.” This strategy of fencing other teammates during practices helped the team overcome the challenge of “adapting to the constantly changing style of fencers that we faced,” Sofia said. 

“After every match, we fence someone new and skilled, which requires us to change our tactical approach in order to beat them. We overcame this challenge by constantly providing advice and coaching each other on the strip when fencing,” Sofia said.

Sunny said that because the epee team’s members all attend fencing clubs, their shared club experience allowed the team to design school practices “similar to that of an actual fencing club,” which helped them to better prepare for city championships.

At city championships, the epee team earned a bye, or an automatic promotion in the first round due to its high ranking, before besting Beacon High School in the quarterfinals and Stuyvesant High School in the semifinals. The Hawks then faced John Jay Campus in the final round.

Cay said that the journey to finals was not easy, as in the earlier rounds, the Hawks were sometimes left with a deficit from point differentials in lost individual matches during the Beacon and Stuyvesant games. However, Cay said that during these times, players were able “to close the gap…by working as a team and supporting each other.” This approach allowed players to earn more points in other individual matches in order to win games overall.

In the championship match against John Jay, the game came down to the last touch, with Cay facing John Jay sophomore Katelyn Xiao, the team’s anchor, or strongest competitor. While Cay was initially up by 10 points, this lead shrunk to 3 points, placing more pressure on her and the team.

Sunny said, “Eventually, we called a time out and gave Catherine some advice. She went back into the game and…got 2 or three points in a row [to win the match].” Cay’s victory marked the Hawks’ championship win—the first since before 2020.

Sunny said that the championship allowed the team to demonstrate “the skills we learned throughout the season, [such as] teamwork, patience, and being supportive.” Cay said, “Ultimately, our win at the epee city championships was a team effort, and it’s a result of everyone’s contributions that we are here today.”

Junior foil captain Madilyn Mercado said that the epee team’s “consistency and dedication to fencing” and chemistry allowed them to succeed throughout this season and at championships. 

Members of the epee team said that the meaning of the championship win should not be reduced to a medal. “To me, [the championship] means that we have all worked together and have grown and become better in fencing after our hard work,” said Sofia.