TEAMS OF THE WEEK
What a year it has been for Morris Hills. The Knights entered districts with a 9-1 record in the regular season and started the postseason with a bang.
Morris Hills earned the overall title at the District 1 Tournament and took home titles in two weapons. The Knights proved superior at sabre and epee over the course of the tournament.
Sofia Marek (sabre) and Ugonna Egbuchulam (epee) have been two of the top fencers at their weapon all season. They both helped lead Morris Hills to titles and qualified for the NJSIAA Individual Championship in the process.
With this victory, Morris Hills qualified for the NJSIAA “Sweet 16″ Team Tournament. With star power at the top and depth behind it, the Knights have a chance to make some noise.
FENCERS OF THE WEEK
Holy Angels earned the overall title during the District 1 tournament on Sunday. In the process, many individuals qualified for the championship.
The Individual Championship will feature the top three fencers on A strip from districts, along with the top two on B and top one on C. During the tournament, Holy Angels saw six fencers qualify across all three weapons.
Sophia Lee finished at the top of the A strip with eight wins while June Kim won B with seven at sabre. Catherine Raimondi qualified at foil while the epee squad will send three participants. Lauren Tong was victorious on A strip while Sirahn Toufayan on B and Elyse Sato on C will also move on.
In District 2, the foil squad of Bergen Tech proved that it is one of the top in the state. Lauren Yu has been a force over the years and showed it once again by winning foil on the A strip with eight.
Caitlyn Park and Jacqueline Park also did enough to qualify for the Individual Championship. This is one of the deepest foil squads in the state and this will be important as the postseason continues.
DUALS OF THE WEEK
Pompton Lakes and West Milford put each other through a big test on Friday.
In the end, Pompton Lakes was able to hang on for a 15-12 win using a huge performance from its epee squad. Jordan Latora and Katherine Barbera finished a perfect 3-0 while Olivia Rentas added two victories.
Sarah Pilaar and Anna DelColliano finished with three wins each to lead West Milford to a 7-2 win at sabre. The back-and-forth dual saw each side take control of a weapon but Pompton Lakes had a bit more in the tank.
Morgan Mildner and Alina Maramangalam won two bouts each at foil, which proved key in the end.
West Windsor-Plainsboro South has been active over the previous week and this includes a hard-fought 14-13 win over Princeton Day.
After falling behind at foil, the epee squad for the Pirates was able to take over. Amy Xu went 3-0 while Millat Husain and Ratchana Ramesh Pandi added two wins.
Saumya Muthukumar and Aaliya Jamandar went 2-1 a piece to keep the Pirates in control. This is a team that is gearing up for the postseason and has continued to improve as the regular season has gone on.
TOP DUALS TO WATCH
Feb. 2 - McNair at Columbia
Feb. 2 - Hunterdon Central at Gov. Livingston
Feb. 3 - Morris Hills at Morris Catholic
Feb. 5 - District 3 & 4 Championships at North Hunterdon
Feb. 6 - Wayne Valley at Fair Lawn
Feb. 6 - Holy Angels at West Milford
Feb. 7 - Columbia at Hackettstown
Feb. 7 - Morris Hills at Bernards
Feb. 7 - Newark Academy at Oak Knoll
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