HIGHLIGHTED BY Maxine Esteban’s gold medal and Patricia Paulo’s bronze medal in the Women’s Foil Individual competition, and Jacob Villanueva’s bronze finish in the Men’s Epee Individual event, the Blue and Lady Eagles of Ateneo Fencing kicked off their campaign in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Fencing Tournament on Thursday, November 22, at the Victoria Sports Tower in Quezon City.

Men’s Sabre Individual

The Blue and White was represented by promising rookie Jaime Viceo and veteran fencer Paolo Villegas. In the poulings, Viceo prevailed through the tough competition, notching a 2-2 win-loss record and to finish at fourth place in the Tableau of Eight. On the other hand, Villegas failed to snag a victory and bowed out from the competition after a 0-4 record.

In the Tableau of Eight, the rookie faced the University of the Philippines’ (UP)  John Paul Dayro, who was ranked below him at fifth place. By halftime, Viceo grabbed an 11-8 lead. Despite leading for most of the match, the rookie was hounded by UP’s Dayro who came back with a flurry of attacks to tie the bout at 13-all.  

Viceo broke the deadlock but Dayro immediately responded and tied things at 14-all. A series of simultaneous attacks kept the score at a stalemate before Dayro captured the victory in a thrilling finale.

Men’s Epee Individual

Men’s overall Team Captain Simon Borja and senior Jacob Villanueva suited up for the Blue Eagles in the Men’s Epee Individual. During the eliminations, Villanueva managed to snag a 2-2 record which earned him a sixth place finish in the Tableau of Eight while Borja finished at last place with one victory and three losses which was just enough to sneak him into the magic eight.

The senior faced off against the Tableau of Eight’s rank three Dennis Gascon of University of Santo Tomas (UST), while the team captain battled it out with Tableau of Eight’s top seed in Darylle Lumahan of De La Salle University (DLSU). The bout was mainly lopsided as Borja trailed from start to finish as the blue fencer fell, 5-15.

On the other hand, Villanueva and Gascon’s bout was tightly contested as both competitors kept things close throughout the contest. Towards the latter half of the match, UST’s Gaston accidentally stepped on Villanueva’s foot which required treatment by the first aid team. Despite this, Villanueva managed to break the stalemate at 13-all and did not look back, advancing to the semi-final round with a 15-13 win.

Villanueva temporarily nursed his injury before he collided with University of the East’s (UE) Sammuel Tranquilan in the semi-final matchup. Due to the nagging pain, Villanueva’s mobility on the piste was visibly curtailed as he trailed Tranquilan, 2-7. The veteran never managed to spark a run, and eventually lost 6-15.

Nevertheless, Villanueva still managed to capture a medal along with UP’s Timothy Gonzales as two spots are allotted for bronze finishers in the fencing tourney.  

Women’s Foil Individual

Women’s overall Team Captain Paulo and sensational rookie Esteban competed in the Women’s Foil Individual event. Esteban cruised through the poulings and went undefeated to snag first place while veteran Paulo secured fourth place.

In the Tableau of Eight, Esteban faced UST’s Henesy Odulio and took control of the match early on. She dominated all throughout and won, 15-1, to advance to the semi-finals.

Paulo, meanwhile, battled UST’s Sherlyn Jose. The Golden Tigress tried to mount a comeback after being down on a 9-4 hole but was eventually eliminated with a final score of 15-8.

Teammates Esteban and Paulo then found themselves on opposite ends of the piste in the semi-finals matchup. Esteban racked up 13 straight points which forced Paulo to play catch up for the rest of the match. The veteran answered with a seven-point blast of her own but was eventually defeated, 15-8.

A classic Ateneo-DLSU matchup was set in the finals stage as Esteban went head-to-head with Divine Romero. The 2018 Asian Games participant stepped on the pedal early on and lead 12-3 en route to a 15-7 win that sealed the gold for the Blue and White.

The Ateneo Fencing Team’s overall Coach Walter Torres commended the lady fencers’ performances and rued the chance for an even better medal haul. “It would have been better if they [Esteban and Paulo] did not meet in the semis,” he said. “It could have been a 1-2 finish between Maxine [Esteban] and Patricia [Paulo] .”

Day 2 of the tourney will start with the Women’s Saber Individual at 9:00 AM while the  Men’s Foil Individual and Women’s Epee Individual is scheduled to begin at 1:30 PM on Friday, November 23 at the Victoria Sports Tower in Quezon City.