Female fencers foil Sheffield to top the league

University of Sheffield 1sts 113 - 131 University of York 1sts

Following the arrival, at York, of some new experienced fencers, the York fencing team has carried from victory to victory. With a fourth win on Wednesday, York is so far at the top of their BUCS league, as the only team yet to lose.

The basic scoring system in team fencing requires there to be three fencers for each weapon, making up teams of three to nine people. Each weapon (foil, sabre and epée) is scored to 45 points, as each of the three team members for that weapon fences each of their opponents in a first to five points match.

Hence, regarding the overall team score, the first match is to 5, the second to 10, the third to 15 and so on, up to the ninth match which finishes when one fighter reaches 45. Thus, if a team builds up successive victories by a margin of four or five points, they will quickly leap ahead. On the other hand, narrow victories or even defeats allow them to stay in touch with their opponents’ overall score.

Sheffield decided they wanted epée (York’s strongest weapon) first, although this is usually the last weapon, being the easiest to referee, and so least controversial at the end of a match. This started well with Katherine Gracey reaching 5-2 against Sheffield’s strongest epéeist Freya Hall, and finished with York gaining a 45 to 23 point victory. All three of York’s epéeists (Gracey, Louise Highton and Charlotte McEnery) fenced well, and scored hit after hit against Sheffield.

Sabre was the next weapon, and following what seemed like identical running and hitting behaviour from both sides, Sheffield gained the initial lead. However with brilliant performances from Gracey and the captain, Kat Chzhen, the teams continued to the last bout with neither of them having gained a substantial lead. The final fight ended with Sheffield winning by three points, although this still left York with a 19 point lead as the last weapon’s were drawn.

This was our toughest game of the season so far.
Captain Kat Chzhen

Foil has proved so far this season to be the team’s weakest weapon and Sheffield’s strongest, so the atmosphere was tense as the fight for the last 45 points began. However York only needed 26 points to guarantee a win. The fights began well, with York establishing the initial lead, but this was soon won back by Sheffield. However, as the points began to build up for both teams, York could see the victory coming, with Rebecca Ellis ultimately scoring the winning hit. However not satisfied with just winning, York fought on, until in the final bout, kicking and screaming (literally) they lost foil by just a single point: 44 – 45.

Nonetheless, the overall victory was York’s, taking them to the topther BUCS League with a game in hand over nearest rivals Leeds, who they beat by a single point in their first match of the season. In the words of captain Chzhen: “This was our toughest game of the season so far, but we all pulled through together for a great victory.”

Teamsheet: Foil – Katherine Gracey, Louise Highton, Rebecca Ellis. Sabre – Kat Chzhen, Rebecca Ellis, Katherine Gracey. Epée - Lousie Highton, Katherine Gracey, Charlotte Kerry.

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