Fencing is HOT. Everybody wants to fence. This year the Great Neck North Girls Fencing Team wanted it the most. The team began their season determined to maintain their illustrious titles of County and Conference Champions, for Nassau County. The varsity fencing team is made up of 11 girls. This year the girls showed their team spirit by sporting new team sweatshirts and ribbons and by getting psyched at a pasta party before the county finals. Whatever it was they did this year, it worked. After working hard all season, the team went into the county finals with a 13-1 record and the desire to win. They were hardly threatened throughout the day as they marched towards their title of county champions. All the girls had outstanding results. The three weapons used in competition were foil, epée and sabre.

On the foil team, senior captain Melissa Latorre, junior Allison Polland and freshmen Lisa Schwartz and Stephanie Butnick worked closely together. Instead of worrying about how they were doing as individuals, the girls worked as a group, combining their knowledge to defeat other teams. Polland and Latorre have not only polished their fencing skills this season, but have become mentors to their younger teammates coaching them throughout the competition. Allison Polland, along with two of her teammates, looks forward to attending the Junior Olympics in Columbus, Ohio, February 16-18. She attributes qualifying for the JOs to her hard work on the team all season under the coaching of Steven Siminov.

The epée team had a positive outlook going into the season, with all returning members, captain Abby Lukash, Devon Giddon, Gabrielle Aiuto and Lindsey Appelman. The sabre team, having their first season this year, was not as confident of victory. However sabre fencers, Elizabeth Mousner, Molly Lukash and Liz Ganz pulled it off and won. The entire team considers themselves team sisters and was proud of the fencing family victory. They were happy to maintain their spot as a significant force in Nassau County fencing for the third year in a row.