On Saturday 4th May, Lancaster and York’s fencers battled it out in a very close competition, with Lancaster beating York 126-109.
Lancaster has seen a strong performance in BUCS this season, coming in 2nd place in the Northern 1A, with York arriving in 4th place.
The opening bout had to be halted twice due to York’s foil not registering hits. Lancaster won in foil with an impressive 14-point lead (45-31), giving them a tremendous start and leaving them in a strong position for the remainder of the competition.
In sabre, York managed to gain some ground, scoring several consecutive hits resulting in lots of noises of encouragement from the hyped-up audience, rendering the atmosphere electric. However, this wasn’t enough to gain a hold on Lancaster, who won this match 45-33. The difference between sabre and foil fencing is that in sabre, the jacket that registers the hits covers the arms as well as the torso, whereas in foil fencing, the jacket only covers the torso and not the arms.
The épée match began with York taking a straight 5-point lead, leaving York overjoyed. As points from all bouts are accumulated to obtain a final score, this was a big spark of encouragement and enthusiasm that York needed, spurring them on to gain the lead in this match, leaving an impressive 9-point gap within the first 15 minutes. Tensions were running high as Lancaster found it difficult to catch up to York, captivating the audience. However, Lancaster was able to regain ground, with Sophia (who was aptly wearing Wonder Woman socks) managing to not only close the gap, but to overtake York, leaving York and Lancaster neck and neck for the remainder of the match.
The afternoon resulted in a solid win for Lancaster Women’s Fencing team, winning 126-109.
