The UST Male Fencers kissed their grand slam bid goodbye after bowing to the University of the East (UE).
The team finished Season 71 hostilities last February 4 to 6 with a 2-2-1 medal haul at the Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym. “[The University of the East (UE)] just really fielded in a stronger line-up this season,” head coach Arman Bernal said in Filipino.
UST ostensibly missed the services of Season 70 Most Valuable Player Jose Miguel Cagalingan and two-time champion Arnel Bernal, who have played out their eligibility years.
The team also failed to secure medals in the individual foil category, as male Fencers Jake Jimenez and Paul Alba succumbed to Jexter Diago of the University of the Philippines (UP) and Sebastian Santiago of Ateneo de Manila University.
The Male Fencers lost a 42-45 heartbreaker against UP in the team category eliminations.
Harris Orendain, Dindo Raguin, and Jimenez secured their first gold after barely escaping Far Eastern University, 44-42, in the team epee bout, contributing 15, 15, and 14 points, respectively.
Orendain settled for a bronze after being five points short in his individual match against Joshua Paunil of UP, 10-15.
In the individual sabre, UST’s Sydney Nogodula emerged victorious against fellow Thomasian Donnie Navarro to bag the second gold plum. However, his teammates Navarro, Nogodula, and Ronald Villorente received bridesmaid status after losing to UP’s Mark Vibas and Gerome Vivar, 33-45.
On the distaff side, the UST Female Fencers dropped to a forgettable fifth place this season, a far cry from last year’s runner-up finish with the women’s epee accounting for the team’s only two medals.
Daryl Kaye Natividad failed to bag the gold because of Ateneo’s Stephanie Payoyo’s intimidating eight-point lead, 7-15, forcing the Female fencer to settle for a bronze.
Chipping in 13 points, Natividad led the epee’s team category to another bronze, while rookie Erica Regato and Mikaela de Torres combined for 19 points for a total of 32 points. Still, this was 13 points short of Ateneo’s 45-point aggregate. Though coach Bernal was convinced that the Male Fencers would manage to reclaim the championship trophy, he said that his female wards still needed a lot of improvement.
