Anyone who went down to York Sports Hall on Saturday of Roses weekend knows how intense the fencing experience was, and for the Men’s 2nd’s match this was a whole new level of pressure. This was the first year in the BUCs league for Lancaster’s team, and so they were eager to secure this victory in Roses to top off a momentous year but, of course, York weren’t willing to go down without a fight.
Epee was up first, with one point between York and Lancaster most of the way through. Both Lancaster and York sported lanky epeeists on both sides, making it difficult to close the distance with long lunges. Lancaster’s epee anchor Harry Carter performed some lovely fleches down the piste and pulled Lancaster into a subtle lead of 45-41.
In the second weapon, Lancaster stepped it up a gear – smashing a ground-breaking score of 45-11 in their strongest weapon and finishing the round in less than fifteen minutes. With such a strong performance from Lancaster’s sabreurs, this left foil with only 7 points needed for Lancaster to win overall.
York’s foil team were particularly strong, leading the round most of the way through however, as only 7 points were needed, Captain Owen Birch soon scored the winning point – enthusiastically dabbing in celebration. “It felt absolutely amazing to finish the year with a win at Roses,” says Birch. “Considering this is the first year in Lancaster’s history that we’ve had a 2nds team competing in BUCS, going from nothing to where we are now as a team has been a fantastic journey and I can’t wait for our next season!”
Man of the match was given to Lancaster’s Jonny Denfhy for the best foil score against some highly-skilled York rivals, despite being the newest team member. “Competing in Roses for the fencing team has been thrilling, nerve-wracking and fun all at once,” said an ecstatic Denfhy. “I felt the support and guidance from the club every moment on the piste. As someone who went from never having fenced before September, to competing in Roses, I highly recommend that you give it a try. I would love to say thank-you to everyone in the club for being so welcoming and supportive throughout – they are what makes fencing so enjoyable.”
With a final score of 132-96 to Lancaster, the match was finished with cheers and handshakes from both teams; finishing the friendly rivalry on a high.
