Great Neck South girls and boys teams claw back to win Nassau fencing crowns

It was do or die when Angelina Fazzini stepped on the strip. A week after winning girls epee at the Nassau individual championship, she put the finishing touches on Great Neck South’s comeback.

Great Neck South defeated Great Neck North, 14-13, on Saturday afternoon at Valley Stream Central High School to claim the Nassau girls fencing championship. Fazzini won all three of her bouts, including a 5-2 victory in the final that crowned the Rebels.

The Rebels got down 6-1, then clawed back to trail by just one at 10-9. They then dropped the next three bouts before grabbing four straight to tie things up. That is when Fazzini stepped to the strip.

"I definitely felt the pressure," Fazzini said. "But I knew if I kept my cool, I could do this for the team."

The Rebels’ final rally got started with Isabelle Chiang (foil). She grabbed a 5-3 victory in her final bout, her second victory of the day.

"After I won my first bout, that gave me some confidence," Chiang said. "I just knew I had to win."

As unprecedented as three Nassau County titles in a row was, a fourth straight seemed far-fetched after the program graduated six seniors a year ago.

"Going three we thought was impossible, four seemed like a dream." Coach Catie Sagevick said. "This was the girls’ goal; they did it."

GNS boys champs, too

The Great Neck South boys fencing team also pulled off a comeback just a few hours later, defeating Syosset, 14-13, to earn the Nassau boys fencing championship. This is the team’s second straight county championship and their third in the last four years.

The Rebels found themselves trailing 7-2 early on. They stormed all the way back to tie things at 12 apiece when Joshua Magidson (foil) won an intense bout, 5-4.

"I knew that was it, I had no room for failure," Magidson said. "I just told myself, that this was it, this bout was all mine."

The two teams traded the next two bouts, setting the stage for Ryan Zhang (epee) to play hero for the Rebels. The final bout was tied at 3 as time expired. Sixty more seconds were placed on the clock for sudden death, and this is when Zhang earned the final touch, allowing GNS to celebrate.

"I was confident, but there’s always a what-if factor," Zhang said. "The fact that I managed to get the last point in the finals, it’s just something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.