Jannah Catantan reclaims UAAP women's foil title

c/o UAAP Media Team

UAAP Season 87 Fencing Medal Tally
(G-S-B)

Men's
DLSU 1-0-0
UST 0-1-0
Ateneo 0-0-1
UE 0-0-1
UP 0-0-0

Women's
UST 1-0-0
UP 0-1-1
UE 0-0-1
Ateneo 0-0-0
DLSU 0-0-0

Boys'
UE 1-0-1
Ateneo 0-1-0
UST 0-0-1
DLSZ 0-0-0
UPIS 0-0-0

JANNAH Catantan reclaimed the women’s individual foil title to propel University of Santo Tomas to the early lead in the women’s division of the UAAP Season 87 Fencing Championships, Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Malate, Manila, highlighting the morning session of the competition.

The Atletang Ayala and national team standout dominated the field, capping off her impressive run with a clinical 15-3 win over defending champion Nana Carbonell of University of the Philippines in the final to earn her second title in the discipline.

On her way to completing the sweep, Catantan blanked Ateneo de Manila's Bea Ursolino, 15-0, before dispatching reigning league MVP Queenie Dalmacio of the University of the East, 15-8 in the semifinals.

"Pinaka lesson na natutunan ko last year is not to pressure myself too much. Physically, technically, wala talaga rin ako masyadong binago, it's more on mentally preparing myself kasi po alam ko do'n talaga ko nagkulang — mentally and emotionally — last year. And kaya heading into this competition, ang preparation ko talaga is not to be too hard on myself, taking time to rest especially if hindi po talaga kaya. And it works," said the 32nd Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist.

("The biggest lesson I learned last year is not to pressure myself too much. Physically and technically, I didn’t really change much — it was more about mentally preparing myself, because I knew that’s where I really fell short last year — mentally and emotionally. So heading into this competition, my preparation was really about not being too hard on myself, allowing myself to rest especially when I really couldn’t push anymore. And it works.")

"Mabuti rin po na na-realize ko po 'yon kasi even before I feel like I'm really pressuring myself too much when, in fact, naco-compromise na po 'yung performance. Kaya 'yon, naging mabait lang po talaga ako sa sarili ko," she added.

("It’s also a good thing that I realized that, because even before, I felt like I was really putting too much pressure on myself, and in fact, it was already compromising my performance. So yeah, I just chose to be kinder to myself.")

Carbonell, who lost to Catantan in pool play, 2-5, earned her spot in the final by dispatching Yelena Martinez of Ateneo, 15-2, in the quarterfinals, and then outpointing Mariel Flores in an all-UP matchup, 15-4.

Flores and Dalmacio shared bronze medals as a result of their semifinal appearances.

On the men's side, De La Salle University’s Christian Buenaventura pulled off a thrilling upset over UST’s reigning back-to-back men’s sabre champion Eunice Villanueva with a 15-14 victory in the final, putting the Green Fencers ahead.

Villanueva battled back to tie things at 14-all, but his hopes for a threepeat were neutralized after the 24-year-old senior held his nerve and landed a decisive counter to seal the win.

"When he was able to tie the match, that shook me a little bit, especially when I thought the touch before that was mine. In the end, I kind of went back to what I was saying before: to reset and think about what to do next, and was able to focus on what I need," shared Buenaventura.

"After the previous three years, in my mind, it's about time (I got one). I feel like in the previous years, I underperformed, but this time, I finally performed the way I should," he added.

Sharing the bronze after bowing out in the semifinals are Charles Babatio of the University of the East and Andre Agatep of Ateneo de Manila University.

Capping off the morning session is Brynt Gale's triumph in the boys' individual epee to kickstart UE's hopes to extend their reign in the division for a thirteenth straight campaign.

Brynt matched his brother Von Eubert's feat with a 15-10 victory over Ateneo High School's Samuel Gatmaytan in the final.

"Masaya po kasi nakakuha ako ng gold and nakatulong ako sa university namin. And sana proud siya (referring to his brother) na nakuha ko rin 'yung gold katulad niya," Gale said.

("I'm happy because I was able to win a gold medal and help our university. And I hope he's proud (referring to his brother) that I also won a gold just like he did.")

UST’s John Malinao and UE’s Ruzel Gallano secured the remaining bronze medals.