It was certainly a season to remember for the girls fencing team. It may not have been a great 2019 season by the numbers, finishing the season with an overall record of 3-10, but it was about much more than the record for the team.

The success for the fencing team came in the form of gaining experience, forming strong bonds, and hard work. Senior Saffire Olan told the Ledger, “The team goal was to have a stronger bond than the previous years. We achieved this goal this season by doing more team bonding.” Sophomore Nicole Kreider added to the subject, “As far as success goes, we might not be the best team, but we all wanted to try our best and I think that was really accomplished. We all grew as people and fencers throughout the season.”

According to head coach, Ms. Keri Ecker, “…a large part of the difficulty we had was because the team was so young and inexperienced. More than half our team had only 1 season or less experience. Despite this, however, the season was extremely positive. Everyone worked really hard, and we had some great individual successes throughout the season…” This underlines the hard work of the girls and the great strides of progress they made this year.

But what’s up next for the fencing team? When asked on the matter, Kreider replied with, “All of the people have the option to fence year round and some of us will. We are in danger of being disbanded due to lack of people, so each year is really special and exciting.”

It seems that many members of the fencing team want to continue gaining experience in the off-season to help for the years to come. Clearly, fencing is quite important to the team, considering that every season potentially being their last.

Though the status of the team is in danger, one thing is for sure. This year will be the last for seniors. Some may continue playing after Lakeland, but high school sports are different. There is a unique pride in representing your high school, and the bonds you make over the years with your teammates are one of a kind. In addition, the memories made will be remembered forever. When a senior plays their final game or match, it is an emotional time, no matter how the seasons in past years have gone.

How the seniors bow out is very important. When asked if the send off for the seniors was a good one, Olan told the Ledger, “I do think that this season was a good sending off. We were challenged as captains to lead a new and fresh team. It taught us life lessons like time management and leadership skills.”

Congratulations on the good season girls, we hope to see an even better one next year.