UE fencers celebrate another season of UAAP success. UAAP photo
Red Warriors reign supreme in UAAP fencing
UNIVERSITY of the East remains the gold standard with a third straight event sweep at the conclusion of the UAAP fencing championships on Sunday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
The Red Warriors’ collegiate squads secured their 10th straight men’s title and third consecutive women’s tiara, needing to clinch them on the very last day of the championships.
In the high school division, UE teams extended its championship runs to 12 on the boys’ side and 10 on the girls’ side.
For Red Warriors coach Amatov Canlas, it was a challenging yet fulfilling outcome, saying, “Masaya kasi nare-retain pa rin namin yung championship kahit na yung pressure talagang…kapag malapit na yung UAAP, talagang nape-pressure kami kasi hindi lang naman isang title yung dinedepensahan namin, apat. At hindi lang siya basta champion, talagang dekada. Yun din pinag-iisipan namin kung paano depensahan kasi gumagaling na lahat ‘yung kalaban.
UE’s toughest competition came in the form of University of the Philippines on the women’s side, with back-to-back epee individual champion Juliana Gomez leading the way, but newly-minted three-time MVP Queen Dalmacio would not abdicate her throne and that of the whole squad as well.
Dalmacio won the gold in the individual saber, team foil and team epee events.
“Happy naman ako na gumagaling na team at dumarami na yung nagfe-fencing sa Pilipinas at yung competition sa UAAP talagang tumataas,” Canlas said.
Shawn Collei Felipe won his second straight season MVP honors after giving two golds for the Red Warriors in the individual and team foil event.
“Sobrang happy po namin kasi nung una talaga sinasabi po namin na delikado kami, medyo tinatanggap na namin na mapuputol. Pero nung nag-start yung games parang binibigay ni Lord yung championship. So kami po, sabi namin, hindi namin sasayangin yung opportunity na binibigay ni Lord pa sa amin po,” said Felipe.
UE’s Aurelle Obzunar and Shareen Beltran received the Rookie of the Year awards in the men’s and women’s ranks, respectively.
In the high school division, Louis Shoemaker and Opao Cantantan won the MVP honors in the boys and girls section, respectively.
Meanwhile, University of Santo Tomas’ Rayne Maravilla and La Salle-Zobel’s Venice Villenas secured the boys and girls’ top rookie honors, respectively.
