Following the last tournament at Queen’s University two weeks ago, the Varsity Blues fencing team returned to Kingston to compete at the RMC Invitational, Oct. 31-Nov.1.
A renowned team tournament welcoming athletes from all over the world, there was a significant amount of pressure for the Blues to distinguish themselves given their success at last year’s competition. With over 40 athletes in 12 foil, epee and sabre teams, they did not disappoint.
The men’s foil team “A”, featuring Andriy Mnih, Adam Smith and Kyle Chan won the silver medal, while team “B”, comprised of Kamil Karbonowski, Daylin Boyce and Brian Lee, fought to a gruelling 44-45 finish against RMC and placed fourth.
In similar fashion, the women’s epee team pushed their RMC counterpart to the bitter end; however Joanne Ko, Amber Wavryk and Julia Barette also fell 44-45, finishing fourth.
Our women’s foil team of Mandy Lau, Nicole See-Too, Kristina Han, and Jessica Taylor finished closely behind the Carleton Ravens for the third for four fourth-place finishes, while the women’s sabre team of Ko, Han, Alison Doyle and Nancy-Anne Davies, pushed hard and finished fifth.
Perhaps the most astonishing Blues story of the weekend came from the bronze-medal match against the Queen’s Gaels in the men’s sabre event. Despite facing a large lead, Blues fencer Fausto “Chacho” Rodriguez closed in on an astounding 19-point gap in a single bout. While the match finished 43-45 in favour of Queen’s, resulting in another fourth place for U of T, Rodriguez’ fight impressed teammates and the competition alike, greatly contributing to the sense of accomplishment felt by the Blues team in only the second tournament of the 2009-10 intercollegiate season.
Men’s Foil
Team A 4th Team B 2nd
Women’s Foil
Team A 4th Team B 6th
Men’s Epee
Team A 13th Team B 16th
Women’s Epee
Team A 4th Team B 6th
Men’s Sabre
Team A 5th Team B 4th
Women’s Sabre
5th
For more information, scores and highlights on your favourite Toronto teams, please visit the home of the Varsity Blues at http://www.varsityblues.ca.
Source: Varsity Blues fencing team
