Lady Fencers: no longer rookies
Aiming to improve their fourth place finish last year, the Lady Fencers are stepping up their training regimen to meet season 72’s challenge.
The young fencing team just had a taste of tough competition last year. “Most of my teammates were new and they haven’t really had a lot of experience yet,” said Captain Faye Reyes, as she recalls how Ateneo lost to other schools like defending champion UE.
Having gained experience from last season, the fencers are confident that they have outgrown their baby clothes. “Well, they’re not really rookies anymore since they all got to play last season but as I have said most of them at that time were new. [But] I can see them really training hard.”
Reyes adds that the team’s probable standouts are last year’s shy-aways. “[Since] they are not anymore rookies, those who probably didn’t do so well last season, will step up this time around.”
The team’s goal is to improve power and speed—difficulties the team had to deal with last season. The team practices at the Ultra regularly and undergoes a weights program to train.
With their last championship coming in 2007, the team hopes that this year they can finally repeat the feat. “I’ve good hopes on the team. The competition is really tough. Other schools are getting really good,” says Reyes.
She adds that despite tough competition, they can still pull through. “I know the team is very competitive. And we have been working really hard. We will try our very best to be overall [champion] once again.”
Blue Fencers: iron fist
Keeping their painful 6th place finish last year in mind, the men’s team is trying to overcome their weaknesses by pressing the limits of what their bodies have to offer.
As the tournament season looms for the sword-wielders, the team’s training pace increases further, whether it may be stair-climbing at the Blue Eagle Gym, long jumps, high jumps, or long distance runs.
Team captain Bryant Cabantac says, “We do those kinds of training to strengthen the legs, especially the quads. They have to be strong for fencing.”
In addition to weekly weapon trainings under various coaches for the foil, épeé, and sabre, the fencers meet on Fridays as a common training day. They focus on body conditioning to improve their speed and striking power. Achieving this, Cabantac says, can pave the way for an improved standing.
Their road to redemption, however, is not without obstacles. “UE talaga ang malakas na kalaban (UE is the strongest contender) [for] both women’s and men’s,” Cabantac says. UE proved the real warrior spirit last season, finishing first place for the women’s tournament and second for men’s.
But the current men’s champion, UST, barely defeated the Warriors, according to Cabantac—making them another fierce competitor.
In addition, Cabantac, who is a national team member, is confident that a gold medal can be expected from him. He did not play last year, but he assures that he trains with the utmost discipline and dedication.
