Talia Perlman stays undefeated for Great Neck North fencing in win over Oyster Bay

It’s been a great start to the season for Great Neck North's Talia Perlman.

Weeks after committing to fence for NYU in the fall the senior helped lead her team to another victory Wednesday night.

Perlman went 2-0 at foil to move to 15-0 on the season as host Great Neck North defeated Oyster Bay, 17-10.

Not bad for her first year on the team.

"It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made," Perlman said. "The relationships I have now and the community here are the best. I’ve wanted to join the team for a while but I couldn’t because I was doing my own individual fencing so I wasn’t able to do it. This was my last year in high school so I just decided to do it."

Jessica Xu went 2-0 at epee and Mia He and Sydney Sarker each went 2-1 at saber to lead Great Neck North (6-0).

"I’m really proud of the way we’ve pulled through this year especially because we had a lot of really good senior fencers who graduated," Xu said. "I think the new fencers have really performed even with all the pressure that was put on them."

With matches later in the season against defending Nassau champions Great Neck South and top contender Syosset the win was a good barometer for Great Neck North.

"I think to date this was the toughest team so it definitely showed us a lot and what needs to be worked out," coach Jenna Ellis said. "But overall I think they have a mental toughness that will push them through."

Oyster Bay was led by Taylor Hall, who went 3-0 at saber and Aurora Aschettino, who went 2-0 at foil. Aschettino was the winner at foil in the prestigious Brentwood Holiday Tournament earlier this season.

"I’m very confident in our team, we’ve achieved a lot and even the new girls that have come in have put in a lot of effort that’s been matched by the whole team," Perlman said. "I feel like we’re a very strong, united force that are going to do great things."

In the boys match it came down to the final bout with Jeffrey Sun earning the victory at epee to lead Oyster Bay to victory, 14-13. The Baymen won the last two bouts after Great Neck North had won three straight to pull ahead 13-12.

By Gene Morris

gene.morris@newsday.comGeneMorris

Gene Morris joined Newsday's sports department in September 2012 and covers high school sports. He earned a journalism degree from Stony Brook University in 2010.