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By Daisy Chung
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Apr. 27, 2009 |
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Why is fencing so special?
“It is a challenging sport,” junior David Seeto said. “You need to train physically and mentally.”
Seeto sees fencing as a game of chess. “You have to figure out what your
opponent is doing and act accordingly,” he said.
Junior co-captain George Feng also believes in this analogy. “I would describe fencing as a game of high-speed chess with your chess piece as your blade,” Feng said. “In fencing, you always have to think one step ahead of the opponent. Strong people don’t necessarily have an advantage.”
Freshmen Alex Cheng won first place on April 20, competing against 30 fencers in the All-City championships. He has fenced for three years and said that he finds All-City a valuable experience because he gets to fence with a variety of advanced fencers. “I was so happy that I won,” Cheng said. “It was cool beating a lot of tall guys.”
Cheng’s final match against Nick Prey from University High School was intense.
Throughout most of the bout Cheng was down by two, but towards the end he figured out
Prey’s style of fencing and was able to win 15-12.
Junior Arlo Lobascio placed fourth in the competition. The first three bouts were
really easy and he stayed strong. In his last few bouts, Lobascio went up against his
teammate Cheng and lost. “I was happy for him because he had more chance of getting
first than me,” Lobascio said.
In Lobascio’s last bout, he fenced Rolin Ngyuen from Washington High School.
Although he was leading early in the bout he lost in the end. “I was really proud
because I did better than last year,” he said.
The girl fencers also did well at All-City. Freshman Jayne Stewart won fifth
place. However, she wants the best and she is determined to practice more often.
On March 26, both teams went up against last year’s All-City champions,
the Washington Eagles. The boys routed their opponent 8-1.Feng expressed enthusiasm
that all the boys were able to beat last years’ champions.
At the same time, the girls annihilated the Eagles 9-0. Junior co-captain Melissa
Louie gave it her all in this match. “At first I was worried because Washington was really
good last year, but we did really well and I was proud of my team,” Louie said.
On March 19 the fencing team dominated the mat against Wallenberg with a
perfect score of 9-0 for both the boys’ and girls’ varsity game. Junior David Seeto found
the match to be friendly because Coach Scott Cunningham knows Wallenburg’s coach.
Feng saw the game as a slightly easy but nevertheless it was thrilling. “We are able to
send out one of the girl fencers who was not a starter,” Feng said. “It was also the first
time she ever competed so it was exciting.”
Come watch Lowell fencers dominate this tomorrow, for All-State championships
at Lowell High School!
The Lowell’s choice for MVP this year is Seeto. He has been fencing on and off
since the eighth grade. Although he didn’t officially start competing in the high school
circuit until sophomore year, he fenced on a fencing club during eighth and ninth grade.
With an intense practice of five days a week, Seeto is one of the most dedicated fencers
on the team. He gives a hundred percent to achieve what he wants.
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