The first home fencing competition of the year, the North West Open, was held on 21 October 2017 in the University of Ulster in Coleraine. Three senior SU fencers entered the women’s foil event: Anna Vaughan, Cece MacMahon and Izzy MacMahon (although Anna had to withdraw at the last moment due to an achilles tendon injury).
After the poule stage of the competition, Izzy and Cece were seeded 4th and 5th. The direct elimination stage followed, where Cece was knocked out in the last 8, finishing 5th, while Izzy went on to finish third and take a bronze medal.
