Second-year epee specialist Colin Dale earned gold in the individual epee event as the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's fencing team started off their OUA title defence in a big way Saturday afternoon (Feb. 18) in St. Catharines, Ont.

Following a tough 15-12 opening round victory over Trent, Dale delivered convincing 15-8 and 15-5 wins over Brock and RMC to earn his place in the gold medal round. Challenging Zachary Zanussi from Carleton for the top step on the podium, Dale showcased his determination in an exciting 15-13 gold medal victory.

Joining Dale on the podium for the Blues was perennial sabre standout William Kinney who earned himself a silver medal in the individual sabre event on Day 1 of the provincial tournament. After two strong wins over York (15-3) and teammate Filburt Yung (15-4) to open the day, Kinney battled to a 15-10 win over RMC to earn a spot in the sabre finals. Facing off with York's Adrien Sparling, the pair went back-and-forth with Kinney falling just short 15-14.

As a team the Blues also received strong results from the aforementioned Yung who earned sixth in the sabre and Beston Leung who placed sixth in the epee.

The Varsity Blues currently sit just behind the Carleton Ravens in the overall standings. The OUA championship concludes tomorrow with the sabre, epee, and foil team events.

Overall Standings (Day 1)
 
CARLETON 108
TORONTO 91
RMC-CMR 62
WESTERN 58
YORK 57
RYERSON 57
QUEEN'S 50
OTTAWA 34
BROCK 31
MCMASTER 11
TRENT 1
GUELPH 0

Individual Results

Men's Foil
GOLD - HARDWICKE-BROWN, Samuel (RYERSON)
SILVER - MCCULLY, Philip (CARLETON)
BRONZE - DEVANEY, Geoffrey (CARLETON)
 
Men's Epee 
GOLD - DALE, Colin (TORONTO) 
SILVER - ZANUSSI, Zachary (CARLETON)
BRONZE - MANSOUR, Dani (RMC)
 
Men's Sabre
GOLD - SPARLING, Adrien (YORK)
SILVER - KINNEY, William (TORONTO)
BRONZE - WEST, Kenneth (QUEEN'S)
 
For more information, scores and highlights on your favourite U of T athletes and teams, please visit www.varsityblues.ca. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, SnaptChat and Facebook for the latest and greatest in Varsity Blues intercollegiate athletics.