On March 31, the Townsend Harris girls fencing team officially kicked off its season with their first match against Queens High School of Teaching. The team defeated Queens High School of Teaching with a total score 90-27 to obtain their first win the season.

Neither the foil or epee teams faced much resistance as they blew their opponents out bout after bout. The foil team finished the match 45-11, an insurmountable 34 point lead. The epee team followed suit and finished the match 45-16. Both teams saw little resistance from their less-skilled opponents.

The match also saw the debut of a number of new team members. For foil, sophomores Joanna Ye, Lavonia Duncan, and Emily Lei made their PSAL debut when they were subbed in during the middle of the match. Freshman starter Doreen Wu and sophomores Ivanka Juran and Jasmine Brite also competed in their first official match. Some notable performances were made by sophomore Ivanka Juran and Lavonia Duncan, who proceeded to score nine and eight touches, respectively. Ivanka Juran attributed her success to the “support from her teammates and advice” as well as her “inspiring” captains.

Reflecting on the team’s performance, Coach Katherine Yan said, “The team’s practice clearly paid off as they garnered many touches”. In spite of such a great performance, many team members expressed a need to improve throughout the remainder of the season.

Lavonia Duncan said, “My goal for the rest of the season is just to get better.”