LEADING international fencers were in action as Colchester and District Fencing Club hosted the 39th Essex Open, at the Essex University Sports Hall.

The event also featured many of the top UK's top competitors and it proved a tough event, in all weapons.

It was the second senior competition in the fencing season and the Foil, Epee and women's Sabre were all at their cap limits.

Colchester fencers James Page and Joseph Rance competed in the Men's Foil.

At 14 years old, Rance was the youngest fencer in the competition.

Unfazed, he won one of his poule fights and took the UK's eighth seed to 4/5.

Defeated by the 13th seed 4/15, Rance was ranked 52/66 overall.

Page, 18, currently ranked 65 in the Senior UK Foil, was seeded 25th after the poules.

After a bye, he took out the 40th seed 15/6 but lost his next fight to the eighth seed 11/15 leaving the competition 25th overall.

On Sunday, newcomer Charlotte Irias fenced in the Women's Sabre, winning one of her poule fights.

In the direct eliminations, she met the number two seed and was defeated 6/15.

Myles Ashforth, 15, was the youngest competitor in the Men's Epee.

In a tough poule he failed to win any fights but managed a hit against the former under-20 world champion Philip Marsh.

No competitor achieved a higher score against Marsh in the poule.

In his DE, Ashforth struggled against the sixth seed, ranked seventh in the UK and was defeated 3/15, ending the competition 59th.

Newcomer Jordan Taylor won a poule fight to be ranked 53rd but was quickly defeated 2/15 by the 12th seed.

CADS pentathlete Mark Evans, also ranked 60th, was defeated 3/15 by the fifth seed.

Eighteen-year-old Noah Cook won 3/3 of his poule fights to be ranked 41st.

He put on a magnificent performance to put the 24th seed.

At one stage he trailed by six points but calmly turned it around to a 15/12 victory.

Cook's fight against the UK's third seed ended in a 7/15 defeat and he was ranked 25th overall.

In the Women's Epee, Elsa Phillipson won all of her poule fights to be ranked second.

After a bye, she defeated the Singaporean 18th seed, 15/7.

In a nail-biting last-eight match against the tenth seed, Phillipson kept her nerve to win 14/15.

But she was beaten in her semi-final by the third seed and eventual winner 7/15, to take the bronze medal.

Gabriella Ortega finished 18th overall.

She was 13th after the poules, narrowly losing her last 32 DE 12/13 after running out of time.

Epee newcomer Magdalena Lewandowski finished 22nd while Megan Redding, fencing for the University of Essex, finished 27th.

CADS are shortly starting a beginners adult course - anyone interested should contact Lyndon@colchesterfencing.com for details.