The second home (N Ireland) open fencing tournament of the year, the Derry Open, was held last weekend 16th and 17th Nov in the Magee Campus of the Ulster University. Three SU fencers took part: Izzy Evans and Victoria Morris in the women’s foil, and Alexander Penny in the men’s foil.
Victoria Alexander
In the first poule round of the women’s foil event, Izzy and Victoria both won 3 out of their 5 fights. Then in the second round Victoria won 4 from 5 and Izzy 2 from 5, making Victoria the 2nd seed and Izzy 4th as they went into the knock-out stage. Both made it to the semi-finals, Izzy losing a tough fight with the no. 1 seed 10-15 to finish third, and Victoria taking a convincing 15-5 win to go into the final. In the final Victoria was unable to overcome the top seed, finishing with the second place trophy.
The first poule round of the men’s foil saw Alexander win 1 fight from 4, then repeat that result in the second round. After going into the knock-out stage seeded 10th, he lost his last 16 fight, but as the youngest competitor in the event, Alexander put up a strong performance against much more experienced fencers.
Victoria, Izzy and Alexander at the 2019 Derry Open
Women’s Foil Trophy Winners
The next event for SU fencers will be the N Ireland Open at Grosvenor Grammar School on the 7th and 8th Dec 2019.
David White
SUFC Coach
21 Nov 2019