Long Island boys fencing preview

With seven of the last nine Long Island Championships, Ward Melville will be going for its fifth straight undefeated season and Long Island title this year. Similar to the girls program, the Patriots have to deal with the added pressure of continuing the school's success.

"It's not pressure just for this year, it doesn't matter which year it is," coach Jeff Salmon said. "My team feels the pressure every year and they have to learn how to be comfortable with it, and it's the same for me."

Salmon said though he did lose some key fencers to graduation, he believes his team will be prepared to step up. He is optimistic about how his team will compete, but he doesn't want to be too confident.

"I feel comfortable with the way the team has looked so far," he said. "But we won't know how good we are until we face every team, so we're more cautious than confident."

Senior foil John Petrie IV returns as one of the top fencers on Long Island. Already committed to Johns Hopkins University, Petrie is nationally ranked in the under-20 age group. Petrie competed three weeks ago at Olympic trials in Kansas City, giving him experience against older, more veteran fencers.

Junior sabre Travis Quinn returns after achieving All-Long Island honors last year. Junior epee Jacob Goldberg won the Long Island Junior Olympic qualifier and will be competing at the Junior Olympics in Utah in February.

Elsewhere on the Island, epee Matt Ross and sabre Andrew Chow return for the final season of their high school careers at Half Hollow Hills.

Junior Marcus Russo and seniors Alex Harwood and Brian McGeveran return for Brentwood-Bayport-Blue Point as one of the top foil teams in Suffolk after winning the Huntington Relay for the past two years. Harwood is committed to Penn State, which has won two out of the past three NCAA championships.

Oyster Bay returns seven of nine starters from last year's Nassau County championship team, with seniors Matt LaRosa and Jack Greenfield leading the way. LaRosa was the county's top sabre last year. Greenfield, the county's top epee, is a three-time All-Long Island selection. Coach John Bruckner believes it will take a combined effort from his team if they want to repeat as county champs.

"We need everyone to keep competing at a high level," he said. "The competition will be tough, but as long as we compete to the best of our abilities, we'll be fine."

Coming off three straight county championships, Great Neck South came up short in last year's county final, losing to Oyster Bay. The Rebels are looking to bounce back this season behind all-county selection Andrew Liu at foil. Senior sabre Alex Smith and junior foil Tyler Healy are also returning. First-year coach Romeo Soria also highlighted freshman epee Skyler Chin, whom he described as "a prodigy."