Men's fencing team takes home two medals from OUAs

The Marauders men’s fencing teams collectively placed fourth at the Ontario University Athletics championships and took home an individual silver and a team bronze medal

On March 1 and 2, 2025, the Marauders men’s fencing teams wrapped up their OUA season at their championship tournament in Kingston, Ont. The men's épée team finished third, foil finished seventh, and the sabre team finished fourth. Overall, the Marauders placed fourth among 13 universities across Ontario.

Over the two-day tournament, fencers competed both individually and in teams of four in épée, foil and sabre. The individual tournaments took place on the first day of the championships, followed by the team tournaments on the second day.

The most notable individual performance came from fourth-year arts and science student Oscar Hand, who took home the individual silver medal in the men’s épée category.

In the team tournaments on the second day, the Marauders continued to see success, particularly the men's épée team, which placed third and took home a bronze medal. The men’s épée team was composed of Hand, PJ Kriemadis, Mohab Mefreh, Zachary Smith and Callum Wilson.

Going into the individual bouts on day one, Hand did not expect himself to medal.

“I came into the tournament ranked fifth nationally, so based on that, I didn’t think I was going to medal,” said Hand.

“My goal was to make top eight on day one since it’s my last year fencing at OUAs. Also, being from Kingston, my family and friends were in the stands, so there was that added pressure of wanting to do well,” said Hand.

Once Hand reached the semi-finals, he did not anticipate moving on to the finals.

“The fencer I faced in the semis was the best fencer in our age group pre-COVID, and he used to always beat me when we were younger,” said Hand.

Hand also commented on the dynamics of his semi-final matchup and how he managed to secure his win.

“His general strategy is to push the opposing fencer to the end of the strip and wait for a mistake to then capitalize. However, I’m very comfortable fencing on the edge of the piste,” said Hand.

Hand was able to gain an early lead on his opponent. However, near the end of the bout, the score became increasingly close.

“I got the score to 11-6, but then he went on a 6-1 run to tie up the score, and then time was up,” said Hand.

Hand explained that when the score is tied and time for a bout is up, a coin is flipped. The two competitors then fence for one minute, and if the score is still tied, the winner of the coin flip moves on. Hand won the coin flip but still managed to score before the minute was up.

“Because I won the coin flip, he had to attack me. We ended up at my end of the strip again, and I just hit him exactly the same way I had all bout, and it was enough,” said Hand.

Hand also reflected on the performance of his team on day two of the championships. After losing to the University of Toronto in the semi-finals, they secured their bronze medal in the third-place match against York University.

“It felt disappointing because we fenced Toronto in the semi-final and lost, but we absolutely could’ve won if I wasn’t as tired as I was. We were tantalizingly close to getting gold,” said Hand.

Hand also credited his teammate, fourth-year chemical engineering student Callum Wilson.

“Callum exemplified resilience, never gave up and truly put his heart into it on team day. We definitely would not have won bronze had it not been for his fencing,” said Hand.

When asked to sum up the season in one word, Hand said "driven."

“I worked a lot this year on small details like accuracy and getting free hits on people’s hands. This has definitely been the year where I made my biggest jump, and I’m glad to see my work has paid off with some medals,” said Hand.

After graduation, Hand looks to continue fencing. He also stated he is looking to start coaching, as he finds purpose in passing on knowledge to younger fencers.

Overall, the McMaster varsity fencing team’s performance at this year’s OUA championships was one of their strongest in recent years. Looking forward, they aim to continue the momentum they have built this year and bring home even more medals next season.