Several of Dublin University Fencing Club’s (DUFC) athletes brought home silverware from this weekend’s South of Ireland Open, with Crystal Percival claiming gold in the women’s foil.
Leah McHugh, Imogen McGuckin and Philip Cripwell also grabbed medals in the women’s foil, women’s sabre and men’s foil respectively.
Percival won a hotly contested final to depart with gold, while Cripwell was unlucky to claim the top prize in the men’s foil. His second-place finish was a high for the club on the weekend.
The medals came from a number of different events, with many other athletes placing very well on the day. Sam Mitchell and Colm Kelleher placed sixth and seventh respectively in the men’s epee and sabre, while Camille Hindsgaul placed seventh in women’s epee and Elliot Schneier came in fifth place.
In an email statement to The University Times, bronze-medal winner Leah McHugh spoke of her delight at beginning the season on such a positive note. Her quarter-final performance was “tough”, she said, leaving her tired entering the semi-final stage, but her perseverance meant her last-four encounter was a cracking contest.
“My opponent for the semi-final was Catherine McConvey from Northern Ireland Fencing. It was a tight match from the start with both of us matching point for point… [I] pulled away by a couple of points, but then she equalized and finally we were 14-14. She then took the winning point with a remise.”
With many athletes achieving personal bests, McHugh praised the achievements of her clubmates over the weekend: “I’m very proud of my teammates performances. Its a testament to the amount of work put in by many of us at training over the summer break.”
In an email statement to The University Times, club captain Bethany Rush also spoke highly of all the competitors. She said DUFC “had by far the best student showing of any University and I’m extremely proud of the work our club members have put in over the summer to maintain their competitive edge and come away with results like that in the first competition of the season”.
