Fencing UNIVERSITIES’ MATCHES

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28263, 29 April 1957, Page 2

Fencing UNIVERSITIES’ MATCHES

Australia Beats Canterbury

An Australian Universities fencing team had a series of hard-fought matches with the Canterbury University College Fencing .Club on Saturday. Four matches were fought—women’s foil, men’s foil, men’s sabre and epee. The women’s foil showed considerable improvement by the Australians on their last performance (against Victoria University College in Wellington) and a poor exhibition by the Canterbury women. The best fencer was Miss Marie Saxby, a tall lefthander, whose judicious use of a quarte parry riposte and an advance lunge attack, gave her many points. The other Australian women were too experienced and too confident for the Canterbury team and the final result was an easy win lor Australia, 13-3. The Australian men had a very difficult time against the Canterbury men and just won a close contest in foil. Their outstanding foilist, Naunton Whitmont, was badly off form and was beaten twice. The timing and judgment of distance he showed in his recent northern bouts were not shown again. However, Garry Watford, an orthodox, left-hand fencer with a beautiful fleche attack, has regained form and is now fencing well. Lapse in Form The two top Canterbury men, David Baughan and Mervyn Sharfe, had a surprising lapse in form. Baughan fenced well below standard and was able to win only one bout. Sharfe was extremely lucky in some bouts and was able to improve only in his last bout when he beat Whitmont, 5-1. The epee was won by Canterbury but the result could have been different. Baughan and Don Ross-Smith proved the best of the epeeists, but the competition was very close. Because of limited time the sabre bouts were stopped immediately the Australians had won more than half the bouts, which they managed fairly quickly, to win 9-3. Rous-Smith again gave a display of fencing which the Canterbury men were unable to match. Results were:— Women’s Foil.—Australia (M. Saxby 4 wins, M. 4 wins, B. Loy 4 wins, V. Stiles 1 win) 1.3, Canterbury (J. Murphy 1 win, M. Grimmett 1 win, N. Finlayson 1 win, H. Dalrymple 0 win) 3. Men’s (N. Whitmont 2 wins, D. Ross-Smith 2 wins. C. Watford 2 wins, G. Watford 3 wins) 9, Canterbury (D. A. Baughan 1 win, A. S. Brewis 2 wins, I. R. Buckingham 0 win, M. A. Sharfe 4 wins) 7. Menu’s Epee.—Australia (Whitmont 2 wins, Ross-Smith 3 vins, C. Watford 0 win, G. Watford 2 wins) 7, Canterbury (Baughan 3 wins, Brewis 2 wins, D. J. O. Caffin 2 wins, ’ Sharfe 2 wins) 9.

Men’s Sabre.—Australia (Whitmont 3 wins, Ross-Smith 3 wins C. Watford 1 win, G. Watford 2 wins) 9, Canterbury (Baughan 1 win, Brewis 1 win, G. F. Musgrave 0 win, Sharfe 1 win) 3.