A PROMISING FUTURE. A spirited Season 75 performance appears to be just the beginning for the young Ateneo Fencers. Photo by Aih Mendoza

IT WAS not perfect, but it was far better than last season’s painful fall to fifth overall. This Season 75, the Ateneo Fencers reclaimed their place in the individual and team events during the UAAP Fencing Championships held last December 11 to 14 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.

In the men’s division, the University of the East (UE) grabbed the title from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) after a three-year drought while Ateneo and De La Salle University bagged first runner-up and second runner-up, respectively. In the women’s division, UE bagged its sixth straight title as UST and La Salle achieved first runner-up and second runner-up, respectively, while the Lady Fencers finished fifth.

Despite the title-less finish, however, what made the season sweeter was that it was a young Ateneo fencing team that made a strong mark in this year’s tournament. Wearing black masks and white uniforms with regally imprinted school symbols, fencers from Team Ateneo competed against five schools, namely La Salle, Far Eastern University (FEU), University of the Philippines (UP), eventual champions UE, and this year’s fencing host UST.

Lady Fencers

Opening day featured a slow pace for Ateneo as the fencers did not win a single medal from any of the individual events. The closest Team Ateneo got to nabbing a medal was when rookie Mary Rose Hernandez nearly landed a bronze in the women’s epee, but lost by a point against FEU.

The second day marked tough bouts for the Lady Fencers, but young blood Andie Ignacio won the bronze for the women’s foil event. Like Hernandez, Andie Ignacio lost her fight for silver against UE by only one point. “During the first round, I was so bad. I needed to play well not to get the hard opponent [for the second round] so anxiety got to me,” shared Andie Ignacio. “It could be anyone’s game. You have to give it your all. I really hope I get higher than bronze [next year].”

On the third day, the women’s epee team, composed of Kimberly Licup, Elise Chanco, Izza Lim and Hernandez, bagged the bronze medal at the expense of La Salle. The Lady Fencers had a consistent performance against their archrivals, finishing the bout with a 45-30 scoring. During their fight for silver against FEU, Chanco delivered eight points to tie the game at 43-all. Unfortunately, FEU still managed to win the match with a two-point advantage.

Competing for bronze against La Salle, Ara Simon, Licup, Andie Ignacio and Women’s Team Captain Glenda Yano obtained a landslide 45-12 victory in the women’s foil team event. The Lady Fencers also had a close match against FEU for the silver medal, winning by only three points, 45-42. However, UE cut their victorious streak short and eventually claimed its six-peat.

Wrapping up the four-day competition, the women’s foil team secured a silver medal to place fifth out of six schools.

Blue Fencers

The Blue Fencers, on the other hand, built momentum and played with a deadly focus to make it to the top three.

Mighty Ignacio, brother of Andie Ignacio, won the gold for men’s saber on the second day of the tournament. Down by five during the first half of his last bout against UE, his coaches egged him to stay on in the fight. “Everybody here aims to beat me. It’s a big pressure because my team was expecting me to win,” shared Mighty Ignacio. “In the UAAP, everybody’s the same. Nobody’s the best. Anyone can lose. You can’t really tell.” Living up to expectations, the National Team member played catch-up for points and stunned UE with the win.

Later on, the men’s saber team, composed of Kevin Hao, Miguel Sarmiento, Julian Vargas, and Mighty Ignacio, rallied in consecutive match-ups against FEU and UE for silver and gold, respectively.

Amid questionable calls and FEU’s nine-point lead, the men’s saber team was able to change the game’s pace when Mighty Ignacio tied the bout at 42-all. The rookie delivered once more for Ateneo by concluding the match, 45-42, but he did not stop there. It was Mighty Ignacio who again lifted the saber team past UE.

The rookie sensation broke down the Red Warriors’ lead and secured a triumphant finish. With his teammates cheering “Magic Mighty,” he displayed mental toughness and mastery of skill to win the match, 45-43, to earn the gold medal that sealed the Blue Fencers’ first runner-up title.

When asked how he was able to overcome such pressure, Mighty Ignacio shared, “Sure attack. I’ve been fencing for seven years. You should always feel that you’re going to lose.”

The fencer also shared how being part of a team fueled his drive to win. “Before Ateneo, I had no team. Now, you know where to look, where to point your sword. You’re fighting for somebody else except yourself.”

A fighting spirit

Men’s Team Captain Kelvin Ingente expressed much happiness with the outcome of the competition. “I’m very satisfied. Not one of them gave up. I saw how they pushed themselves. They showed what it means to be an athlete,” he said. “There will always be a room for improvement, especially for men’s epee and foil. We see this as a rally point to train harder and intensify our efforts.”

Women’s Team Captain Yano shared that the main and most effective strategy of the team was to trust and have faith in each other. “Consider each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It doesn’t mean that [if] you lose in the individuals, you’ll lose in the team event,” she explained.

With the fact of a growing and improving lineup, both captains look forward to how the Ateneo Fencers will fare in the coming seasons. Yano hopes the team will get inspired by this year’s achievements and learn from their mistakes, which they admitted during their recent teambuilding.

“Na-realize na nila na kaya nga (They have realized that they can) [win gold]. It proved to be true. It’s a step-by-step process. I really believe in training and practice and that’s where the team should work on,” Yano said.

The performance this season is miles ahead of how Ateneo did last year—it seems that this young bunch of fencers have found a winning formula.

Meanwhile, the Junior Blue Fencers also exhibited an outstanding performance in the individual and team events. Enzo Dial and Dennis Gascon won gold for boys’ saber and silver for boys’ epee, respectively. The boys’ saber team also earned a bronze medal while both the boys’ foil and epee teams gained silver, giving the young fencers an overall first runner-up feat for Season 75.