FRANKLIN LAKES — Dan Tobin, Charles Copti and Gaspar Lesznik form quite possibly the top saber squad in the state. But Ramapo boys fencing coach Paul Apostol is not surprised by his extra strong saber troika.
"They all are very well trained and fence at a high technical level," Apostol said. "Each of them is capable in [his] own way of taking advantage of scoring opportunities and forcing the tempo to their advantage whenever they are on the strip."
Tobin, a senior and team captain, is 15-0 in dual-meet bouts this season and was 14-0 at the prestigious Cetrulo tournament, held at Morris Knolls in early January.
"I really like the speed, power and the momentum that saber offers compared to the other two [epee and foil] fencing disciplines," Tobin said. "It goes quickly and aggression really plays a key role in determining the winner. That’s the aspect I really admire about the weapon."
A first-team Bergen-Passaic Fencing League Division 2 choice a year ago, Tobin, along with Copti, competed in San Jose, Calif., at the North American Cup tournament last weekend, part of a series of four national events throughout the year.
"The tempo and the strategy in saber are the big positives for me," said Copti, a sophomore from Wyckoff, who finished seventh in the individual saber State tournament as a freshman last year. "You have to plan two, three, four moves ahead of time so you have the optimum opportunity at victory."
Copti took 11th out of 132 fencers in San Jose in the juniors 17-20 category, and, along with Tobin, trains at the Manhattan Fencing Club in New York. Copti is 17-1 in dual meets and was 13-1 at the Cetrulo.
Copti is ranked seventh in the country in the under-18 category and has fenced in Poland and Hungary with a tournament to come in London, where he could win enough points to represent the U.S. national team in the World Championships.
The 64-year-old Apostol is a guiding force in his eighth year as Ramapo’s coach. He was on the U.S. Olympic team in both 1976 at Montreal and 1972 in Munich, taking an eighth place in saber at the competition in Germany. He also has won two saber World Championships in the Veterans category (ages 60-69). In addition, he claimed an NCAA saber crown for New York University in 1967.
"I just try to lend whatever fencing knowledge I have to try to help the team succeed," Apostol said.
Lesznik, the third member of Ramapo’s saber attack, is 20-3 and competes and trains at the Bergen Fencing Club in Ho-Ho-Kus.
"One thing I have to work on, I have to be more aggressive and should not be giving up ground," said Lesznik, a junior who wants to study computer engineering in college.
Lesznik’s fencing has been aided by his other major non-academic interest: competitive dancing. He enjoys all the various types of dance, including jazz, ballet and tap, and trains and performs at The King Centre for the Performing Arts in Wanaque.
"The schedule can be pretty full and sometimes dancing rehearsals conflict with fencing meets, but it’s definitely worth it because gaining experience in one improves the skill in the other," Lesznik said. "For example, the dancing can increase my agility and help balance my attacking stance."
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