THE UST Male and Female Fencers landed second and third, respectively, at the conclusion of the UAAP Season 79 fencing tournament at the Quadricentennial Pavilion Saturday.
The Male Fencers kept their spot last year with two gold, two silver and two bronze medals. The women’s squad slid one place lower from their second-place finish in 2016 with a gold, silver and bronze.
The University of the East bagged the championship title for the fifth straight season with its female squad winning 10 titles in a row. The Red Warriors tallied an 8-4-4 gold-silver-bronze medal finish.
Graduating Female Fencers team captain Maylene Pailma, along with Janna Dalmacio, Cherie Mañago and Fhaym Sarrondo, yielded to UE in the championship match of the women’s sabre team event, 37-45,
UST’s women’s epee team shared the bronze medal with the De La Salle University.
Pailma, who said weeks before that she would skip this fencing season, opted to end her UAAP career at her homecourt and give the University more leverage in the general championship race.
“Dahil sa UST gaganapin ang tournament at baka kumulelat tayo sa ranking, [naglaro na si Pailma.] Para na rin maging maganda ang mai-contribute na points ng fencing sa overall championship race,” UST head coach Ricardo Fuenzalida told the Varsitarian after the tournament.
UST’s men’s foil team shared bronze with the Ateneo de Manila University for the Male Fencers’ lone medal of the day.
In juniors’ play, UST failed to bag a gold medal in the four-day tournament but bagged five silver and eight bronze medals.
“Naging maganda naman ang performance ng mga bata at maganda ito lalo kasi halos lahat [ng mga tumulong sa panalo ng UST] mga bago,” Fuenzalida added.
