UNIVERSITY of the East made a strong move toward the top of both the men’s and women’s divisions in the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Fencing Championships, with ace fencers Nicollei Felipe and Queenie Dalmacio delivering breakthrough golds, Saturday afternoon at the Makati Coliseum.
Felipe, a fourth-year psychology student and three-time reigning MVP, defeated teammate Louis Shoemaker, 15–5, in the men’s foil individual final to claim his fourth straight UAAP title in the event.
“So far, pero sobrang happy, pero hindi pa po dapat magpakampante kasi malayo pa po, may two days pa, may team event pa po. So now, gusto ko po munang maging happy at enjoy-in ‘yung pagkuha namin ng gold and silver, pero after ng araw na ‘to, focus muna sa next events,” said Nicollei, the older brother of Khiane, who is also representing the Red Warriors.
“After po ng walang makakuha ng gold sa men’s epee kahapon, kinausap po kami ni Coach Amat (Canlas) na mag-focus na kami na mag-gold and silver kami sa foil, kahit sino sa ‘min makakuha, basta kami pong dalawa magharap sa Finals,” added the national team upstart.
On the women’s side, Dalmacio defeated University of Santo Tomas’ Krystal Tuy, 15–7, in a dominant showing to capture the gold medal in the sabre individual event.
“Happy po ako kasi may nakuha na po ‘yung women’s team. Sana sa mga susunod po, makakuha pa. Unang-una, thankful ako kay God, kasi para sa ’kin plan lahat ni Lord ‘to,” said the graduating Lady Warrior.
“Kanina po na-pe-pressure po talaga ‘ko before mag-game, pero iniisip ko na lang na lang na laban na lang, kung ano man ‘yung ibibigay. Inisip ko rin naman binigay ko ‘yung best sa training ko. So alam ko naman na may result rin na maganda nga,” Dalmacio admitted.
Felipe dominated the competition, sweeping his pools to take the top seed in the knockouts. The 21-year-old breezed past UST’s Joseph Amores, 15–2, before advancing to the final with a 15–5 win over Marrke Abaygar, also of UST.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Dalmacio mirrored Felipe’s performance, dispatching her opponents from Ateneo de Manila University with authority. She defeated Maiev Boy, 15–7, before routing Kaikaku Dela Serna, 15–2.
Bronze medals in men’s foil went to Abaygar and University of the Philippines’ Dustin Tan, while UE’s Shareen Beltran and Dela Serna shared third place in women’s sabre.
The 1–2 finish by Felipe and Shoemaker allowed UE to take the lead in the men’s division with a 1–2–1 gold-silver-bronze tally, ahead of De La Salle University (1–1–1) and UP (1–0–2).
In the women’s division, UP still leads with a 2–1–0 record after Jennina Mendoza captured the epee crown during the morning session.
Dalmacio’s gold, however, put UE into contention with a 1–0–5 tally, while DLSU and UST each secured a silver to share third place.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
In the girls’ division, the UST Junior Female Fencers completed the day’s sweep with a former UE Junior Lady Warrior taking the epee title.
Aubrey Fernandez captured her second gold in three years after defeating teammate Althea Lopez, 15–11, in the final.
“Siyempre po, parang naninibago na naman po ako kasi iba na po ‘yung nire-represent ko, pero still grateful po sa mga nangyari po. And ‘yun pong hardwork po and ‘yung mga extra na ginawa ko po is nagbunga po siya sa competition,” said Fernandez, now a Grade 12 student-athlete who also won Season 86’s title with UE.
Bronze medals went to Ateneo’s Rana Rafael and UE’s Nina Canlas. Fernandez and Lopez’s 1–2 finish propelled UST to the lead in the girls’ division with a 2–3–1 tally, ahead of UE (1–0–3) and Ateneo (0–0–3).
Earlier, the Junior Warriors claimed the top spot in the boys’ division with a 1–2–1 tally, ahead of the DLSZ Junior Green Fencers and the PAREF Southridge Admirals, who each have one gold.
