THE ATENEO Fencing Teams (AFeT) bolstered their standings on the second day of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 Fencing Tournament, highlighted by the first medals of their campaign. Today’s bouts were held earlier today, March 14, at the Makati Coliseum in the City of Makati.
Women’s Epee Individual – Pools
Francesca Bernabe and Kiana Mangulabnan represented Ateneo in Pools 1 and 2, respectively, of the Women’s Foil Individual event.
To start the first pool, Bernabe notched a 5-2 victory against University of Santo Tomas’s (UST ) Dahlia Capuno as well as a 5-3 win over De La Salle University (DLSU)’s Ednilag Krupskaya over the course of four clashes. These victories allowed the Blue Eagle to clinch seventh place and advance to the next round.
Looking to join her teammate in the round of eight, Mangulabnan left it all on the floor. The swordsman got off to a rocky start, suffering defeat in her first two bouts. However, a crucial 5-4 victory over Lady Fencer Rodgelyn Raguin was enough for the Blue Eagle to claim the eighth and final spot in the direct elimination round.
Women’s Epee Individual – Direct Elimination
Entering direct eliminations, the Blue Eagles were dead set on pushing for a deep run even as a low-seeded entry. This was short-lived as the seventh-seeded Bernabe dropped her quarter-final bout against second-seeded Jenelle Matias in a close 12-15 affair.
Additionally, the eighth-seeded Mangulabnan was defeated by top seed Jaymi Delos Santos in a 2-15 loss, resulting in both Ateneans being eliminated in the first round of the stage.
Women’s Sabre Individual – Pools
Concurrent with the Women’s Epee, Maiev Tyrande Boy and Kaikaku Dela Serna donned the Blue and White in the Women’s Sabre Individual event.
Dela Serna opened Pool 1 with a shaky 1–5 loss to University of the East’s (UE) Shareen Beltran, but quickly bounced back with 5–1 and 5–2 wins over DLSU’s Alleah Mae Aala and University of the Philippines’s (UP) Mary Mallari. Although her hot streak ended at the hands of UST’s Kim Uy in a close 3-5 loss, the two earlier victories were enough to send her through to the direct elimination stage of the event.
Aiming to do the same feat, Boy stepped up to the strip in Pool 2. After dropping her first three matchups, she sneaked her way into the direct eliminations with a 5-3 win over UE’s Mharla Jade Ortula, placing both Ateneans in the direct elimination phase.
Women’s Sabre Individual – Direct Elimination
With the pool stages complete, Dela Serna and Boy competed in the direct eliminations of the Women’s Sabre Individual event.
Being placed as the sixth seed, Dela Serna pulled off an upset in the quarter-final with a 15-14 nail-biting win over UP’s Noro Nami. However, the Blue Eagle eventually bowed out in the semi-finals against the second-seeded Queen Dalmacio from UE in a 2-15 beatdown. Nevertheless, Dela Serna was able to clinch a bronze medal for Ateneo in the process.
Notably, the seventh-seeded Boy was eliminated by Dalmacio to prevent an all-Ateneo semi-final encounter in the event.
Men’s Foil Individual – Pools
Capping off the day, Sebastian Aceron and Jose Torres stepped onto the strip, determined to add another medal to the Katipunan-based squad’s tally in the Men’s Foil Individual event.
Torres was the first to embark on his direct elimination push. The Blue Eagle nearly scored a victory in his second bout against Tiger Fencer Joseph Amores, 4-5. Ultimately, Torres came up short as he went winless in his pool.
Eager to avenge his comrade, Aceron was next to compete in the second pool. Despite his best efforts, the Blue Eagle fell in all of his matches, consequently shutting down any chance of advancing to the direct elimination round.
After tallying their first medals of the season, the AFeT will look to collect more hardware tomorrow, March 15, at 8:30 AM at the same venue.
Men’s Medal Tally (Gold-Silver-Bronze):
- UE Red Warriors (1-2-1)
- DLSU Green Fencers (1-1-1)
- UP Fighting Maroons (1-0-2)
- UST Tiger Fencers (0-0-2)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (0-0-0)
Women’s Medal Tally (Gold-Silver-Bronze):
- UP Fighting Maroons (2-1-0)
- UE Lady Warriors (1-0-5)
- DLSU Lady Fencers (0-1-0)
- UST Lady Fencers (0-1-0)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (0-0-1)
