Blanchet Foils North Salem, 45-39

On Friday, March 10th, the Blanchet Cavaliers faced the North Salem
Vikings. The Cavaliers were represented by sophomores Lindsay Pirelli (captain and reserve fencer) and Scott Mendzer, along with freshman Ethan Syron. Fencing for the Vikings were Travis Neidig (captain), Ariana Dunning, and Kris Lancaster.

In the 45-point relay match (score is cumulative), the results were as
follows:

1. Neidig vs. Syron: 4-1 bout, 4-1 match
2. Lancaster vs. Pirelli: 3-5 bout, 7-6 match
3. Dunning vs. Mendzer: 5-4 bout, 12-10 match
4. Lancaster vs. Syron: 1-4 bout, 13-14 match
5. Neidig vs. Mendzer: 12-2 bout, 25-16 match
6. Dunning vs. Pirelli: 3-14 bout, 28-30 match
7. Lancaster vs. Mendzer: 2-3 bout, 30-33 match
8. Dunning vs. Syron: 4-6 bout, 34-39 match
9. Neidig vs. Pirelli: 5-6 bout, 39-45 match

Final score, 39-45, victory for the Blanchet Cavaliers.

This was the first time that the Cavaliers and Vikings had met, as North Salem had forfeited the previous match due to an insufficient roster. This time Blanchet was only able to field three fencedrs, instead of their usual four. This was nearly disastrous in the fourth bout when Ethan Syron had to take a ten-minute injury break due to aggravation of an injury he received several days before. Had he not been able to continue, the Cavaliers would have had no choice but to forfeit.

These two teams were both fairly closely matched going into the match. This was reflected in the score for the first four bouts, which stayed pretty close. But Viking captain Travis Neidig blew Scott Mendzer out of the water in the fifth bout 12-2 to hit the bout scoring limit (25 for that bout) for the first time in the match. This gave the Vikings a 9-point lead.

Not to be outdone, Cavalier captain Lindsay Pirelli riposted with a 14-3 rout of Ariana Dunning, switching the Vikings' 9-point lead to a 2-point deficit in less than three minutes.

The remaining three bouts were evenly matched, preventing the Vikings from ever reclaiming the lead. Pirelli, in her role as captain for the Cavaliers, wisely assigned herself the final bout, which allowed her to hold Travis Neidig off. Neidig, as the most experienced of the Viking fencers, just couldn't gain any ground against the determined Pirelli.

Offensively, the team captains led the way, with Lindsay Pirelli scoring an impressive 25 points for the Cavaliers, followed by Ethan Syron with 11 and Scott Mendzer with 9. Travis Neidig delivered 21 touches for the Vikings, with assistance from Ariana Dunning (12 points) and Kris Lancaster (6 points).

On the defense for the Vikings, Travis Neidig gave up 9 touches, followed by Kris Lancaster with 12 points, and Ariana Dunning with 24 touches received.

Ethan Syron turned in another solid performance for Blanchet with only nine hits taken. Captain Pirelli was right behind him with only 11 hits, followed by Scott Mendzer with 19 touches received.

Their victory puts the Cavaliers solidly in third position for the season
so far at 2-2. In first position are the West Salem High School Titans
at 3-0, with the Salem Homeschool Byzantines in second at 2-1 and North Salem Vikings at 0-4.