Cambridge’s women fencers had the title in their sights as they took on Imperial College, Surrey and Oxford at Imperial’s Ethos sports centre last weekend. Sitting second in the Southern Premier League, the women moved into pole position with weekend victories, and went on to clinch the title in midweek. Meanwhile, the men’s team emerged victorious from a similar test, defeating a trio of Oxford, Bristol and UCL all within 24 hours.

A match against Surrey kicked off the women’s action. Surrey beat the Light Blues by just two hits in the equivalent fixture last term, so a close match was anticipated, with Cambridge keen to up their game. Sabre and foil fought well to secure a lead going into the Epee, Surrey’s strongest weapon. However an exceptional performance by the ex-Harvard captain and new face in the Cambridge team, Felicia Sun, and the Epee team of Ellie Wigham, Freya Petty and Abbie Harvey brought home a 45-28 victory. The overall score across all three weapons was 135-97. The blues then disposed of Imperial without much trouble, finishing with a score 130-97. Standout performer Yasmin Cazorla Bak managed not to lose a single hit.

The team reconvened on Sunday morning for a match against Oxford, a warm up for the Varsity match on 8th of March. The winner would gain a distinct psychological edge. The Epee team opened up a 13 hit lead, taking advantage of a weaker Oxford team, before the Light Blue foil team fenced well against a strong Oxford roster, winning by 2 hits. The Cambridge sabre team only needed 29 hits to win, but delivered much more; a strong combination of Tobba Ágústsdóttir, Ewa Bielczyk-Maczyńska and Niamh Spence dominated the match, winning again 45-38. With a victory at all three weapons, Cambridge beat Oxford 135-113 overall. The team now face some hard training to ensure a repeat performance in the official Varsity match.

For the men, meanwhile, a close opening match resulted in a 108 - 121 loss to Imperial. However, in successive, thrilling matches against Oxford, Bristol and UCL, Cambridge took three stylish victories at 123 - 109, 130 - 102, and 128 - 112 respectively. This is a marked improvement from the previous leg of the tournament when Cambridge lost to UCL, Oxford and Imperial. The men’s Light Blues have completed their campaign and sit sit second in the league, waiting on the results of other teams’ matches. They now prepare for the Varsity match (on 8th March at Oxford), and the BUCS Knockout Championship.

The women’s team sealed their triumphant league campaign with a 135-90 all-weapons defeat of Cardiff on Wednesday 29th. They now move forward to the knock-out phase, competing for a spot in the final, which takes place on the 26th of March as part of the BUCS Big Wednesday event.