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Oxford do the double in Varsity fencing

Oxford 108 – 103 CambridgeOn Saturday 23 in the Examination Schools the mighty Dark Blues triumphed over the outpaced Tabs. For the first time in 10 years the Dark Blues won the men’s trophy at home with the support of a stellar home crowd. Cambridge started strongly with their favourite weapon, the sabre. Cambridge Captain Alex O’Connell, a former Under 17 World Champion, was humbled by Oxford’s Jamie Kenber (Magdalen) who fenced above expectation to beat him. Veteran Paul Taylor (New) stepped up also and got a few cheeky hits and finally Dominic Kerr (Magdalen), a first year sabre talent, showed he wasn’t intimidated with a few classy hits of his own against O’Connell. The final sabre score was 45-18 to the Tabs. Not a great start, but not impossible. Foil was next and Kenber demonstrated his showcase form demolishing the cowering Tab opposition. Chris Kent, a pocket rocket from Lincoln, took up his arms against larger opponents and outclassed them. The third foilist Andy Caldwell (St Johns) also proved himself to be stoic, overcoming three days of Torpids pain as part of the best St John’s crew in 20 odd years with an excellent foil performance. Things got a bit fraught at the end and with the Cambridge Captain arguing every hit with the referee – only making himself look foolish and setting up the inevitable self-destruct that followed. Final score 45-27 to Oxford. Epee was the final weapon and saw two of Oxford’s current national silver medalling team, Matthew Dodwell (Lincoln) and Matthew Baker (Exeter), in action. Andy Caldwell served as third epeeist because he still felt fresh and wanted another chance to smash Tabs. Trailing by 9 hits, the task was always going to be hard. Caldwell made not getting hit look easy when he out-thought Cambridge’s former Captain and Epee No. 1, Chris Greensides, in a 0-0 draw after 3 minutes, and then Dodwell tore into them and took a 5 hit lead. Baker promptly lost this lead in a scrappy fight with the same Greensides losing 4-1, but then turned around and slayed the unfortunate Tom Möst 8-1 in their last fight. Dodwell, serenely calm, then overcame Greensides, ensuring victory for the second year running. Overall Score 108 – 103. In the women’s event, Sophie Troiano (Christ Church) captained the side to an impressive victory. This was the first time that Oxford have won both the men’s and women’s event in more than 10 years. The Dark Blues got off to a dominating start in the sabre featuring former BUSA individual Bronze medallist Justine Aw (St Johns). Sophie then followed up with great performances in the epee and foil and the Ladies overcame Cambridge 122-105. Notable performances came from newcomer Rosalind Davies (Jesus) in the epee making her opponents look ordinary, and last year’s women’s Captain Georgina Osborne (New) who fenced in her last Varsity after having fenced first for Cambridge for three years and then for Oxford for the past three. Definitely also worth a mention was Mat Shearman (Lincoln) anchoring the Men’s Seconds, the Assassins, to a victory with an incredible fight that clawed back a 6-point deficit and his final bout in which he humiliated his Tab opponent and clinched victory for Oxford. This was a comprehensive victory for an Oxford side that has trained hard all year. They will be hoping to replicate this form in next years fixture.by Matt Baker

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