Banner Season: Stacked field of competition coming together in Kingston for chance to claim women’s championship
Kingston, Ont. – The women’s fencing field has been a competitive one for some time and the latest banner season edition is set to follow suit. With five different schools claiming OUA glory since 2005 and many more positioning themselves among the contenders, it is anyone’s game this weekend when the OUA Women’s Fencing Championship heads to Queen’s University. From individual standouts to triumphant teams, plenty of participants will have golden aspirations against their provincial combatants, but only one can capture the Kay Aoyama Trophy; something that the Toronto Varsity Blues have done in back-to-back years.
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Fifth-year Varsity Blues veteran Siobhan Drysdale is leading the charge for the reigning champs’ foil relay and looks to improve on her bronze medal at last year’s championship. The London, Ont. native will be teaming up with sophomores Tianxi Hu (Beijing, China) and Yan Li (Beijing, China), as well as rookie Caroline Placko (Toronto, Ont.) to try and repeat the gold medal performance of the foil team at the most recent banner season event.
Leanna Lui (Thornhill, Ont.) and Emily Principe (Sydney, Australia) will headline the team’s epee contingent with their sights set on elevating to gold after their previous silver medal result. The former has achieved consistent success this season, placing in the top eight at the Canada Cup and winning bronze at the Brock Open. The latter will enter championship weekend as the reigning individual epee champion, with a goal of repeating her triumphs in the discipline.
Fifth-year standout Rebecca Jeffrey (Muskoka, Ont.), finally, will be at the forefront of a rookie-laden sabre relay once again after winning herself and her Blues a silver medal last year.
Not far off of the Varsity Blues pace a year ago, the Western Mustangs enter as reigning silver medalists, and a group that has topped the podium as recently as 2017. Beyond the key returnees that will help guide the Mustangs’ quest for gold, there are also some emerging talents that will be called upon to come up big this weekend. According to head coach Carol Christie, however, that is a manageable ask for the hard-working bunch.
“A large group of first year fencers has blended well with the returning team,” said Christie. “Practices started in September and through tournaments and camps, the team has developed into a strong contender in the OUA.”
One fencer who will look to make good on her coach’s motivating words is newcomer Lily Liu. The first-year participant, who hails from Richmond Hill, Ont., has her ‘B’ ranking and is ranked sixth in Canada. She is in the high-performance program for women sabre fencers in the country, and enters her debut OUA championship with provincial, national, and international competition experience, including a silver medal showing just last weekend at the Canada Cup in Quebec.
Alongside the team’s sabre standout is Nicola Cheng (West Vancouver, B.C.), who will captain the Western epee attendees in her second season. Despite only having one championship appearance under her belt, Cheng certainly made the most of it, taking home the OUA gold medal alongside her relay teammates. She has also made herself right at home on the podium at various other events throughout the year, showing that she will be one to watch once again this weekend.
Last year’s third-place finishers from RMC – a feat that was highlighted by a bronze medal in the sabre team relay – will look quite different in the 2020 banner season edition, with two-thirds of last year’s Paladins' team gone. The drastic turnover, which left only five fourth-year athletes on the roster, will make a return to the podium tough, but with hopes of maintaining a contending roster moving forward, valuable experience can surely be gained this year.
While they weren’t recruited fencers, RMC’s epee group boasts the most OUA experience with three seniors, including team captain Jenny Park, but a pair of talented veterans will headline the other two disciplines as well. Fourth-year fencer Haley Saulnier (Ottawa, Ont.) remains a consistent threat in sabre. Her fast-slashing action won her an individual bronze medal at the 2018 OUA Championship, and now that she has recovered from an injury that plagued her at last year’s event, Saulnier will once again be one to watch in 2020. Fellow fourth-year Lakni Wickramarathna (Toronto, Ont.) will anchor a foil team comprised otherwise of first and second-year members.
With a few key veterans and a slew of fresh faces, head coach Patricia Howes understands the challenges that lie ahead, but remains hopeful that her banner season bunch can maintain a potent presence among the province’s elite. “Women’s fencing is very, very deep right now. There are top fencers from right across the country competing at OUA schools, so it is going to be challenging for us to remain in the top four. If everything falls into place and everybody does what their potential is, however, we could stay near the top.”
Ryerson will be another team fighting for a top four spot, but without a team entry in the foil weapon, they will need to capitalize on their strengths in the epee and sabre disciplines to rack up the points. Leading the charge therein will be Natasha Kis-Toth (Richmond, B.C.) and Buke Ayra (Toronto, Ont.).
The former won an individual silver in epee a year ago – her first appearance at an OUA finale – and was a prominent piece to their bronze medal winning relay team. The member of the national team program will be aiming to produce podium finishes once again in her second championship entry. The latter, meanwhile, will also be suiting up for the Rams for a second time this weekend, but has plenty more banner season experience to her name after spending four years with Varsity Blues. Ayra placed 11th in the sabre discipline a year ago and will look to lead that weapon for the Rams this season.
Matching the Rams’ output in 2019 were the Carleton Ravens, who put together a top-five performance of their own on the provincial stage. They’ll see a pair of returnees not only compete this weekend, but fight for a place on the podium, as both Katie Caparini (Red Deer, Alta.) and Madelyn Krasnay (Oshawa, Ont.) are hoping to bring home some epee and sabre hardware, respectively, to cap off their campaigns.
Excited about the possibility of regaining a spot among the contenders are the Queen’s Gaels, especially given that they are competing at home. It has been four years since the Tricolour medaled at the event, which also marked their third and final banner in a three-year winning streak, but heading into competition on their home turf, the Gaels are feeling good and are excited about the weekend.
Said team captain Lia Piekarsky, “The energy at practice has been noticeably more intense over the past few weeks as the team gears up for another championship. Our women’s team is thrilled to host the other OUA schools on our campus for the tournament. As I look towards the end of my final season as a Gael, I could not be prouder of the team and our accomplishments.”
Another member of the team looking to add to these accomplishments is Emily Mason (Pitt Meadows, B.C.), who captains the Gaels’ epee team. The sophomore had a strong start to her campaign, earning a bronze medal at the Queen’s Hugh Munby Open, and after being waylaid by injuries, she is glad to be back in action in time for the OUA finale and has a similarly strong finish on her mind.
Mason isn’t the only competitor battling back from injury, as McMaster’s Fiona Chen (Markham, Ont.) is also looking to bounce back at the upcoming finale. A defending bronze medalist from a year ago, the fifth-year senior is focused on once again competing for the Fred Wach Trophy as the individual sabre champion. Fellow Markham native Zoe Wu will compete alongside Chen in the sabre and will do so as the eighth ranked fencer in Canada in the discipline. With a pair like that at the forefront, it is understandable why it remains a weapon of strength for the Hamilton squad, but the Marauders will also have opportunities for additional successes this weekend thanks to a couple of experienced epee and foil fencers at their disposal.
Also bitten by the injury bug, Rachel Gilham is focusing on making up for lost time at the OUA Championship when she suits up for the Trent Excalibur. The junior from Milton, Ont. is channeling all her energy from her recovery into this weekend, which the team is hopeful can lead to promising results for the young group. Hoping to set the tone for Trent alongside Gilham is Gabrielle Gillett (New York, NY), who despite competing in her first OUA finale, brings past experience to the Excalibur in the sabre discipline.
A fellow New Yorker who has taken home plenty of hardware in her foray into university fencing is also hoping to make a splash at her first championship, as Brock’s Sara Fellman gets set to compete with the Badgers this weekend. The Brooklyn, NY native will carry with her a bronze from the Brock Invitational and a gold from the Western Invitational into this year’s banner season, as well as her medalist status from the North American Cup. Also
