Throughout the years, the Bernards fencing team has had its many ups and downs, and this year is no exception. The season record – before going to state – for girls fencing is 10-7, while the boys are 13-4. This year, the men’s fencing team and the women’s fencing team both made it to the state. The men’s first state meet was on February 14th, against Montgomery High School. Bernards beat Montgomery 18-9. On February 15th, the women’s first state meet took place at home against Ramapo. Bernards won 16-11. February 16th was the night that the boy’s Elite-8 took place. The boys lost that meet 25-2, ending their season at eighth place in the state. On February 17th, the women won their Elite-8 against the Academy of Holy Angels 14-13. What would be the last state meet for the girls team took place on February 21st, against Chatham. The girls lost 16-11, concluding their season and being placed 4th in the state.
Since the beginning, the Bernards fencing teams have dominated the roster. The teams were gaining less and less kids each year, until the amount of fencers joining the team in 2021 spiked. The increase in boys and girls allowed the teams to clinch at the shortest notice because of the intense hours of hard work the team put in to be the best. The Bernards fencing teams have always been strong, but haven’t made it this far into state championships in a while. Head coach, Jonathan Cherng, told a source, “The girls team made it to state last year, but lost to Pingry in the first round… Before that it was 2019, before COVID. The boys also haven’t made it to state since 2019”. Coach Cherng told the source that he felt very close to his team. He explained that “considering this is [his] second year as head coach, a good majority of the team and [him] started relatively at the same time, so [he] feel[s] a close-knit connection to the whole team.”
Being a team doesn’t mean just wins and losses, at least not to Bernards it doesn’t. Brianna Ho, NJ.com’s fencer of the year in 2021, expresses how deeply she feels for the team, “I really love just having a family that I can spend time and grow with. As we compete together, we’re all fighting for the same thing and are rooting for each other’s success”. The boys and girls continue to root for each other no matter how tough it gets. Even though one person on the team is on the strip at a time, that doesn’t make the sport less team oriented. According to Oliver Po, squad leader for boys foil, explains this further, “…My favorite [part] of the team is just the environment they create on and off the strip. Fencing is typically a very individual sport… However, when you have the team behind you, cheering, coaching, and supporting, you feel unstoppable. I’m so proud of what this team has been able to accomplish this year and it’s inspiring seeing all the hard work that the team puts in [to it] start to pay off”.
Both the women’s and men’s fencing teams put in incredible effort this season, whether their meet was a loss or a victory. Congratulations to the teams and their strong progress, and now all we can do is wait for a bigger and better season next year.
