Written By: Camila Reyna

The winter season has been going splendidly for Rye Country Day School’s Varsity Fencing team. The fencers, led by captains Ishana Kumar ‘26, Ray Cao ‘26, Cooper Wu ‘26, Leon Zhou ‘26, and Elaine Fong ‘27, along with coaches Dr. Mitschele, Mr. Rivera, Coach Early, and Coach Acevedo, have been making strides in both practices and meets. Out of their first four meets, the team has won against Chapin and Avenues, with the men’s sabre squad going undefeated in all meets so far. The team has been embodying their motto, which is to “fight with strength and honor” in all their meets. 

Each practice begins with a warm up run of 5 minutes, followed by stationary stretches. After the team finishes their regular stretches, they line up for dynamic stretches. Subsequently, the team will either play a game that focuses on improving a certain aspect of fencing, such as footwork, work on technique as a group, or split up into squads. The RCDS fencing team consists of 6 squads: women’s and men’s foil, women’s and men’s sabre, and women’s and men’s epee. When the team splits into squads, the captains or strip leaders decide what the members of the squad will do during practice. Some examples of what they practice during this time include working on point control, footwork, a round robin, or free fencing, which is when fencers are allowed to choose who they fence and for how long. At the end of practice, fencers hear the familiar “Last touch” exclamation from one of the coaches, signaling the end of the allotted fencing time. Finally, they pack up their fencing equipment and line up near the strips to listen to announcements from the coaches and captains. All in all, RCDS fencers have busy and productive practices that help them continuously improve.

The fencing team has seen multiple new fencers join the team this season, such as Amanda Gui ‘27, who is a member of the women’s sabre squad. She explains how one of her favorite parts of practice is the feeling of community on the team and further says that “There are a lot of new players in fencers…the community’s super positive and very welcoming…And also, it’s pretty fast and it’s fun.” When describing her future hopes in regards to fencing, she stated that “I’m really looking forward to winning one bout in the future, and I think because my fundamentals have improved since the start of the season, I’m looking forward to that and looking for a sabre win in general.” When asked about how she is feeling at this point in the season, Karter de la Fuente ‘27, another sabreist, said “I’m feeling pretty confident” and that “I’m really happy to be back with everyone and all the new people.” She also explained how “at this point in the year, we know each other and we all build off of each other in practice” and that “Everyone’s really supportive, especially during meets…Overall, at this point, it’s a community.” De la Fuente went on to say that the fencers are comfortable with sharing critiques with one other and are adapting their techniques. 

The RCDS fencing team has a bright future ahead for the remainder of the season and will surely continue to secure wins. And, of course, they will fence with strength and honor at every meet.