Varsity Blues earn three individual medals as Day 1 action wraps up
KINGSTON, Ont. - Saturday saw a strong showing from the defending OUA overall champions, as the Toronto Varsity Blues picked up medals in all three individual disciplines at the KMCSC in Kingston. The host RMC Paladins found the podium with a bronze in sabre.
The Ryerson Rams earned the first gold medal of the day in the individual foil event. Mateusz Kozak put on a dominant performance for the Rams, winning his way to a final against Waterloo's Gareth Marks, where Kozak again proved victorious and Marks earned a silver medal for a Warriors team that only entered fencers in foil. Kozak's gold gives Ryerson a three-peat as Charles Walter Trophy champions, continuing the legacy of Sam Hardwicke. In an all-Toronto bronze medal bout, David Chen-Li beat teammate James Hotti.
Zac Zanussi was next to top the podium, winning gold for Carleton in individual epee. Zanussi faced Matthew Litwin and a strong Queen's fan base in the final, but a quick sword from the Ravens fencer gave him the victory and the Desjarlais Trophy, while silver went to the Gaels. The home crowd was behind RMC rookie Kyle MacKinnon in the bronze medal fight, but defending OUA Champion Colin Dale from the Varsity Blues earned Toronto their second bronze medal of the day.
Toronto's William Kinney reclaimed the Schwende-Tully Trophy as the sabre for a third time, after hoisting it in 2015 and 2016. Kinney squared off against Carleton's Matheson Go for the title, where the veteran Varsity Blue proved victorious and Go earned the Ravens second medal of the day with his silver. The hosts found the podium in individual sabre, when Garrett Whelan beat Toronto's Cameron Haigh for bronze after coming back from a 7-1 deficit in his quarter-final fight.
Sunday's competition will commence at 9am in the KMCSC Field House and feature the team relay competitions in foil, epee, and sabre. Medal and trophy presentations will follow the completion of all events, including the overall OUA title which accumulates points from both the individual and team placements.
Men's Individual Foil
1 KOZAK Mateusz, RYERSON
2 MARKS Gareth, WATERLOO
3 CHEN-LI David, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
Men's Individual Epee
1 ZANUSSI Zac, CARLETON
2 LITWIN Matthew, QUEEN'S
3 DALE Colin, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
Men's Individual Sabre
1 KINNEY Will, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
2 GO Matheson, CARLETON
3 WHELAN Garrett, RMC
