Michael Weinhoffer, Staff Writer

The fencing team had its first meet of the year on December 19th, and our performance made us proud to be one of the newest varsity sport at Oratory. The team had nine members last year, but grew to fifteen this year with senior Elijah Wagner, juniors Rees Lobban, and Michael Weinhoffer, and sophomores Ian Mauser, Aidan Windorf, and William Ramundo returning for a second year. Our first match was against Saint Peter’s Prep at the Cobra Fencing Club in Jersey City. We did not win, but we did clinch two bouts (matches), and this made our coach, Mr. Margolskee, very proud considering the competition. Our next meet is the Cetrulo Championships tournament on January 4th, which is our first all-day tournament of the year against multiple teams. The District Championships tournament will be held on January 25th, and the Prep Championships will be held on February 14th, which will mark an end to our season. Seven smaller meets will be held until February 3rd, and as the newest team at Oratory, we would greatly appreciate support from the Rowdies by attending the smaller meets. The fencing team has much more strength and depth than last year, and our performance against St. Peter’s Prep proves that we are a legitimate and competitive varsity sport.