The Brock Badgers are coming back from the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Women's Fencing Championship with a medal.
On Saturday, Feb. 10 and Sunday, Feb. 11, the Brock Badgers women's fencing team headed to the University of Toronto to compete at the provincial tournament.
Brock placed fifth overall out of 13 university squads with 100 points, finishing one point ahead of Queen's.
"The team had a respectable performance this weekend, upsetting more seasoned teams and pushing through adversity," said head coach Tim Stang. "It's a testament to their skill and teamwork, and they've made us all proud."
After not earning an individual or team medal last year, the Badgers women saw themselves back on the podium in 2024. The team of Jacqueline Chen, Isamaris Escano, Kirsten O'Brien and Wynne Reichheld defeated the RMC Paladins 45-32 to win bronze in women's sabre. The Badgers went 2-1 in pool play, besting the Waterloo Warriors 45-40 and Trent Excalibur 45-26 before falling to the eventual silver medalist Toronto Varsity Blues 45-39.
In women's foil, the team of Wylan Clitheroe, Sara Fellman, Alex Francoz and Addison Mahoney made it to the quarter-finals after going 2-1 in pool play. The Waterloo Warriors bested the Badgers 45-29 as the Badgers settled for fifth.
Akanksha Guleria, Danielle Martin, Tiffany Muhindi and Tamara Tait placed ninth in the women's epee team relay.
The Badgers women's individual results were led by Chen, who earned a hard-fought seventh-place finish in sabre. The sophomore from Scarborough went 8-4 after two rounds of pool play. She then proceeded to win two matches in the single elimination round before falling 15-10 to the eventual silver medalist Janna Elshakankiri of the Varsity Blues in the quarter-finals.
Sara Fellman earned a ninth-place finish in women's foil. The Studio Art major went 8-2 in two rounds of pool play and won her first Round of 32 matchup against Western's Emily Sim 15-2. Fellman was then eliminated in a close 15-13 loss to Evangeline Dryburgh of the Waterloo Warriors.
In women's epee, Akanksha Guleria placed 20th out of 46 fencers in her first OUA Championship after going 4-7 in two rounds of pool play and dropping a very close 15-14 Round of 16 contest to Sarah Nolasque of Ottawa.
With a young squad and many members returning, Stang and the Badgers have much to look forward to in the next couple of seasons.
MAJOR AWARD WINNERS
Dave O'Donnell Trophy –Nikhita Antil, RMC
Women's Coach of the Year – Jay Logan, Ottawa
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (DAY 1)
All individual medalists are OUA all-stars
Women's Foil Individual
Gold (Maitre Ken Wood Trophy): Erika Dominguez, TMU
Silver: Catherine Wu, Toronto
Bronze: Robin Wang, Western
Women's Epee Individual
Gold (Al English Trophy): Liza Yermolenko, Western
Silver: Ava Zheng, Carleton
Bronze: Stephanie Shen, Western
Women's Sabre Individual
Gold (Fred Wach Trophy): Ariana Tang, Western
Silver: Janna Elshakankiri, Toronto
Bronze: Nikhita Antil, RMC
TEAM RELAY RESULTS (DAY 2)
Women's Foil Team Relay
Gold: Western (Fang, Sim, Upton, Wang)
Silver: Toronto (Dong, Wu, Xie, Zizzari)
Bronze: Carleton (Hu-Tchernykh, Junco, Waller)
Women's Epee Team Relay
Gold: Western (Mei, Shen, Yang, Yermolenko)
Silver: Toronto (Lau, Mucsi, Mucsi, Sun)
Bronze: Carleton (Ayoub, Johnson, Zheng)
Women's Sabre Team Relay
Gold: Western (Kalsi, Lewicki, O'Donnell, Ariana Tang)
Silver: Toronto (Elshakankiri, Lu, Placko, Trzciakowski)
Bronze: Brock (Chen, Escano, O'Brien, Reichheld)
WOMEN'S STANDINGS (OVERALL)
Western 411
Toronto 293
Carleton 142
RMC 117
Brock 100
Queen's 99
Waterloo 74
Ottawa 70
McMaster 68
Trent 53
York 35
TMU 33
Guelph 2
