Two Canadians qualified for the round of 64 in individual epee whose final rounds took place today in Kazan, Russia. Along with epee, competition in team sabre began with both Canadian women’s and men’s teams participating.

In men’s epee, Hugues Boisvert-Simard was the only Canadian to qualify for the round of 64. In his bout against the Czech Jiri Beran, he won by a score of 15-12 making an impressive seven straight single hits after trailing early in the second period. His next match up in the round of 32 was against the third ranked fencer from Hungary Andras Redli. Boisvert-Simard fought hard against the Hungarian but came up short in a 15-10 defeat.

The other Canadian epeeist to qualify for the round of 64 was Daria Jorquera Palmer. She lost a close bought against the Korean Choi 15-11 to end her campaign in individual epee. “It was a very tough match”, said Jorquera Palmer, “but I’m happy with the way I fenced. The team was strong individually and I’m looking forward to compete in the team event in two days”.

For the first time this season, the women’s sabre team faced Venezuela. The team defeated the Venezuelans by a close score of 45-44. With this victory, they will move into the round of the top 16 nations and will face the first ranked Russians. “Tomorrow’s bout will be very difficult”, said weapon leader Benjamin Manano, “But regardless of the result the girls can be proud of their work and know that they have a bright future ahead of them”.

Over in the men’s division, the Canadian sabre team lost to the Mexicans by a close margin of 45-43. “The loss was one difficult to digest and was a big disappointment for the team. They will look to bounce back from this loss and put it behind them as they prepare for next year’s season”, said Manano.

The next rounds of competition in team sabre will go on tomorrow along with the start of team foil.

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For further information, please contact:

Monika Leck, CFF Communications Intern: mdl246@cornell.edu