ACADEMY OFFICERS TAKE GOLD, NEWCOMERS FIERCE
Well, this tournament had everything: action, drama, and romance (but mostly the first two), and we’re extremely proud of our officers and our students competing for the first time. We even had two officers taking gold! Good job!!
Lightspeed Saber Academy students Daniel Delgado, Jacob Chappelle, Vanessa Evans, and Brandon Nease made their official debut in league competition and did very well for their first time out, especially Jacob, who finished in 10th place. Jacob counted long-time friendly rival Daniel Delgado among the heads he took that day (be on the look out for revenge!) Vanessa scored one win out of four and later moved on to take second place in the women’s bracket!
But the real story of the night was the great performance of our academy’s officers, who all qualified into the bracket. It culminated in a battle between David and Tony Zaldua and Patricia versus Vanessa.
The men’s final bout began with an early lead for David, whose terrifying deflectors were very difficult for Tony’s pommel-dominant style to push through. The bout was 8-4 in David’s favor at the halfway mark. David continued to drive the score up to 11 points when Tony rallied and scored several consecutive contacts, bringing the bout to 11-9. On the final point, Tony and David went back and forth several times without engagement, finally culminating in a countertime action from David, opening up Tony for the last 3-point return, ending the match at 14-9.
In the women’s final, Vanessa fought valiantly against Tricia, though she was trailing by 4 points at the halfway mark. Vanessa is fast and powerful, but Patricia’s renowned defense served her well, gaining many deflections and firing them back. The match closed with a 3-point defensive contact for Trish, finishing the bout at 14-5.
Like the sound of this? Don’t miss league nights then, where you can cut your teeth for the first time on competitive matches. Check the schedule if you’re not sure when is what.