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After several problems with recent fixtures it was finally time for the women’s fencing team to meet Edinburgh in the first of two league matches this season. It was always going to be a tough match but the girls had their fingers crossed that they would be able to do better than their unfortunate loss against Durham earlier in the week.
First up was Sabre (known to be the weakest weapon of York) and unfortunately for the girls’ team it was proving to be difficult, with York losing the first two fights 5-0. Next up was Becky Ellis who began to make a little bit of headway against the fiery Scots. From here on in all the team members managed to at least score some points but it was always going to be tough. The York team of epeeists trying their hand at sabre were always going to find it hard against the Commonwealth Fencing Championships 2010 Silver medallist in sabre. However by the end of the Sabre the final score was 45-22, which was better than had been expected for York.
Foil was up next and for the York team it was expected to be really tough as they had been told that Foil was Edinburgh’s strongest weapon. After a slightly difficult start some excellent fencing again from Ellis took the York team to a score of 10-8. The next couple of fights proved tough but when Katharine Gracey came to fence in the 5th fight of this weapon York were again almost level with Edinburgh. There was some excellent fencing in the next few fights but unfortunately York could not foil Edinburgh in this weapon and so lost, though not by as much as they initially thought it would be, giving a final score of 45-37.
With only Epee to go Edinburgh needed only 14 points to win the match but, with their strongest weapon now over and York’s still to come, the main priority of Louise Highton and her team was to keep the number of points Edinburgh were able to win by to the minimum. York got off to a flying start gaining point after point and conceding very few. Some excellent fencing from Highton, Ellis and Gracey saw York show why Epee is their strongest weapon. In the 5th fight the conclusion of the match was decided as unfortunately Highton lost the crucial 14th point but finishing her bout 25-14 York knew they still had the chance to keep Edinburgh’s overall lead to a minimum. Emily Jeans from Edinburgh proved a tough match for Gracey in the 6th fight but York finished off the Epee in their usual efficient fashion giving a final result of 45-28 to York.
The final score of the match was 118-104 but the York team were happy with this as it keeps them out of the crucial playoff zone. With two more away matches before the end of the term York are hoping to be able to win both and therefore improve their chances for later on in the season when they again meet Durham and Edinburgh.
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