The Bernards Boys and Girls Fencing Team have finished off a very strong and successful season both with a final record of 10-3. This is even more impressive as a new head coach has taken the reins. Stephen Olson, the former head coach at Gill St. Bernards, took over as varsity head coach during the offseason after five seasons with Gill.
The Girls squad has had a very impressive season, including some major individual and team-wide accomplishments. Stella Macdonald-Salerno ‘25, reached her 100th win of her career at home against Voorhees. On top of this, Emma Grau ‘25 also recently reached this milestone, recording her 100th win in a match against Mendham. The Girls team, with their 14th-plus straight winning season, has had great wins over Pingry, Watchung Hills, and Mendham. The boys team, finishing their third straight winning season, had impressive wins over teams of the likes of Somerville, Watchung Hills, and Hunterdon Central.
For the Saber sword type, Julian Lenci ‘25 and Emma Grau ‘25 lead the team in wins with 22 and 27. As for Foil, Lufe Mattos ‘26 and Grace Constantelos ‘26 lead the team in win total with 23 and 17 respectively. For Epee, Charlie Quinn ‘27, Alanna Natilli ‘25 and Fiona Vitali ‘25 lead the team with 17 and 16 wins.
Charlie Quinn ‘27 says he would describe the team as “historic”. He says “Oliver Po and Lufe Mattos are some of the best fencers in school history and this team has a lot of togetherness. On top of the new coaches, the team was able to adjust and put together a very strong season.”
As previously mentioned, Stephen Olson took over as head coach of the fencing teams and has led both to very successful seasons. Additions to the coaching staff include Garrett Blakeslee and Caitlin Kotz.
Olson says “we definitely had a slow start to the season as the team adjusted to three new coaches, however the team has made the needed adjustments and has shown a lot of improvement as fencers and individuals.”
Stella MacDonald Salerno ‘25 agrees with Olson, saying “It was rocky at the start, especially because there was a lot of uncertainty close to the start of the season about who would be the head coach. Looking back at the season though, I am very proud of my team for handling the eventual transition smoothly.” Getting three new coaches at the beginning of the season, what could be viewed as a reset, has actually improved the squad and led to a bright future for Bernards Fencing.
An important component to the team’s success has been the team morale. Bringing teammates together and cheering them up is a very important part of fencing, as Charlie Quinn ‘25 explains. He says “being able to hype each other up is very important in fencing and maintaining a high level of energy and rooting for each other has been instrumental to our success.”
At the fencing matches, there are always teammates cheering on players and hyping them up as they face their opponents. Win or lose, after every bout there are teammates walking up to the competitor and there is an amazing sense of togetherness about the team.
Olson says, “When everyone is excited and encourages their teammates, it increases their confidence on the strip.” Team morale is clearly very important to the success of the team, and the teams have shown that their team bonding capabilities are through the roof.
The Girls and Boys Fencing team has been through some adversity with a brand new coaching staff but this has not stopped their streak of successful seasons and great individual and team-wide performances.
