THE ATENEO Men’s and Women’s Fencing Teams shook off their opening day jitters and found their stride on Day 2 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 Fencing tournament on Friday, February 9, at the PhilSports Complex Fencing Hall in Pasig City.
Lady Eagles
The season took a turn for the better for the women’s team as they garnered two bronze medals.
Lady Eagles Patricia Sarmiento and Gabby Jimenez took the pistes to compete in the Women’s Epee individual event. Jimenez bowed out early in the competition, ranking 10th overall after the poulings, while the ninth seed Sarmiento challenged University of Santo Tomas’ (UST) Marielle Peralta in the tableau of 16.
After keeping a close match that saw various lead switches, Sarmiento successfully took the match, advancing to the semi-finals where she faced Taft-based powerhouse, Divine Romero. Unable to snatch the lead throughout the bout, Sarmiento fell to her opponent, 6-11, ultimately garnering a bronze medal in the event.
“I kinda feel relieved, but at the same time, still hungry for more,” Sarmiento shared.
The women’s saber duo of Team Captain Justine Joseph and Ericka Nava continued the success of the women’s team on the piste. Joseph finished the poulings as the third seed, while Nava came out as the eighth seed. In her quarterfinals matchup, Nava fought valiantly, but was outclassed by national team member Allaine Cortey from the University of the East (UE).
Meanwhile, Joseph showed great poise, preventing an upset and a comeback from Jianne Piguing of De La Salle University (DLSU), 15-13. Joseph fell into a hole early in the semi-finals bout against Drew Alyssa Celso from powerhouse UE, but with her confidence and grit, she came back to tie the score at 14-14. Experience ultimately won the match for Celso, as Joseph fell, 14-15, to snag a bronze medal.
On her heartbreaking defeat in the semi-finals, Joseph recounted, “Sayang kasi sa akin na sana iyon (It was close because that could have been mine), but one small mistake cost me the win,” she shared. “But I would take that as an encouragement to do better in the upcoming events.”
Blue Eagles
The men’s team showed great promise in Day 2 after a disappointing first day. Veterans Kyle Lim and Jacob Villanueva came out of the poulings as the fourth and sixth seed. However, both fencers were hurdled with a huge task of overcoming the eventual finalists in Sammuel Tranquilan and Gian Carlo Aribe, respectively.
Lim was outplayed by eventual champion Tranquilan, losing 9-15, while Villanueva greatly struggled against Aribe in his own matchup, falling 4-15. Team Captain Michael Tan, however, remained optimistic for the upcoming team events as the past years have shown that they perform better as a team than as individuals.
The Blue and Lady Eagles will continue to compete in the team events tomorrow until Sunday, February 11, at the PhilSports Complex Fencing Hall in Pasig City.
