The Varsity Blues women’s fencing team reclaimed the provincial Ontario University Athletics (OUA) title on the weekend of February 8–9, securing their sixth banner in seven years. The team’s victory was fueled by dominant performances from the epée and sabre squads, both of which topped the podium, while the foil team contributed with a third-place finish.
This year’s OUA Women’s Fencing Championship occurred at Queen’s University in Kingston. The first day featured individual events, while the second day was dedicated to team competitions.
Fencing is divided into three weapons: épée, sabre, and foil. Épée is the slowest-paced, with the entire body as the target. Foil follows priority rules, but unlike épée, only the torso is a valid target. Sabre is the fastest weapon, allowing fencers to score with the edge or tip of the blade while targeting everything above the waist.
What happened?
The Blues finished the individual events with impressive results: épée fencer Lilla Mucsi claimed gold, defeating last year’s OUA champion, York Lions’ Liza Yemolenko, in a close 15–13 bout. Other standout performances in the individual events included épée fencers Nicole Su and Blues team captain Anna Mucsi, who respectively finished fifth and sixth.
The foil team also delivered strong results, with Catherine Wu in fourth, Léa Zizzari in sixth, and Zoey Xie in seventh. In sabre, Janna Elshakankiri earned bronze, while Salma Elshakankiri finished sixth. With most U of T’s fencers advancing to the top eight bracket, the team already led with the most points by the end of the first day.
In last season’s championships, all three weapon teams fell to the Western Mustangs in their respective gold medal matches. The second-place finish ended our five-year OUA winning streak. Determined to reclaim the banner, all three teams gave their best on the final day.
This season was different. Although a 45–39 loss disappointed the Blues women’s foil team to the Western Mustangs early in the elimination rounds, they quickly regrouped to defeat the Queen’s Gaels 45–20 and secure the bronze medal.
Just before the women’s foil team secured third place, the sabre team made a heroic comeback in the final bout of the gold medal match. Despite an injury near the end, team captain and anchor Janna Elshakankiri continued to fence with the team trailing 43–42, defeating the Gaels with a close 45–44 win.
After a long and exciting weekend, the épée team sealed the victory. Following last season’s heartbreaking 41–40 defeat against the Mustangs, the Blues made a triumphant comeback, defeating this year’s Mustangs 45–36.
“There was a [lot of] pressure on us [at] this OUA [championship] to make a comeback after losing our streak, and we really wanted this,” Janna Elshakankiri said in an interview with The Varsity. “Coming together and working as hard as we could to put [everything] we’ve done throughout the season into two days… I’m very happy that it… work[ed] out and we were able to [win] the championship again.”
What’s next?
The women’s team’s season has ended following the provincial championship. The men’s team continues training in preparation for their OUA championships, which will take place on the first weekend of March in Kingston.
Tian Tian Dong is a member of the Varsity Blues Women’s Fencing Team. She fences on the foil team and finished in 16th place individually out of 42 competitors.
The Varsity congratulates Dong and her remarkable teammates on their provincial banner. The dominant Blues captured their sixteenth title in program history.
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