Mens 1st display a rapier wit
Like the Women’s team, the Men’s 1st Team Fencing also spent the weekend fencing in Hampstead Heath. Our league consisted of Oxford 1s, Cambridge 1s, UCL 1s, Bristol 1s, and us. Our first match of the weekend was against UCL, a match we needed to win if we were to avoid being in the relegation spot. Firstly, our incredibly strong foil team anchored by Guillermo Delberque carried us to an easy lead of 45-24. This was followed by UCL winning epee by a single point but an exceptional performance by Matei Grama lead the team to a win overall. Imperial 128 – UCL 114.
Our next match was against Cambridge. Just as we were about to start, an old injury of James Odger’s, our strongest epeeist, put him out of the match. We persevered, achieving a close win in epee, and a close loss in foil. In the final round of sabre, we were cursed with injury again when Chris Erickson suffered a hand injury that rendered him unable to fence, and with no substitute available, we conceded the bout. Two injuries making what could’ve been a decisive win into a very close defeat. Imperial 120 - Cambridge 125.
Our final match of the Saturday was against Bristol. We began with foil again, with the skill of our foil team giving us a 7 point lead going into epee. With Guillermo filling in for James, we struggled against an experienced team, losing epee. Despite an incredible performance from Guillermo filling in for Chris this time, sabre was no better. Imperial 103 - Bristol 128.
We all arrived Sunday morning refreshed and hopeful. We had only one match against Oxford, and we were confident we could win, despite being 3 fencers short of our full team. We began with foil, and a strong showing from all fencers: we foil with a 5 point lead. Sabre was next, where we pulled it back and closed the gap to 10 points. The final match of foil was close the entire way through, interrupted only briefly by one of Oxford fencers ripping his mask off to throw up. We entered the final bout leading 40-37 and needed to get to 45 before they get to 41. It now all lies on Filip Anies who takes it to an excruciatingly close 44-40 but just missed the crucial last point. The final score: Imperial 125 - Oxford 127.
We finished 5th in the league, ahead of UCL, and considering the injuries we faced and the fencers we were missing, we are incredibly proud of our performance. Time to prepare ourselves for the Cup!
