Estonia's women's épée team recorded several impressive victories at the World Cup event in Casablanca, Morocco, but fell to Russia in the semifinals.
Estonia's women's épée team faced Turkey in its opening match and, after a shaky start, eventually secured a convincing 45-26 victory. Katrina Lehis and Irina Embrich lost their opening bouts, leaving Julia Beljajeva trailing 9-6 at the start of the third, but Estonia won the remaining seven bouts.
Estonia took the lead after the fourth bout, in which Embrich defeated Nilahsen Erten 8-5. The gap widened significantly in the seventh bout, when the experienced Embrich beat Nisan Dincel, 28 years her junior, 9-2. Victories by Beljajeva and Lehis eventually extended Estonia's winning margin to 19 touches.
In the round of 16, Estonia faced Germany, but the Estonians dominated their opponents to claim a 38-24 victory. Estonia led 15-11 heading into the fourth bout and never allowed Germany to close the gap.
In the quarterfinals, Estonia faced a strong French team but continued its excellent form, building a six-touch lead after the third bout. The advantage continued to grow, with Estonia leading by 10 touches after the sixth bout before sealing a convincing 45-34 victory.
In the semifinals against Russia, Estonia trailed 14-10 after three bouts, but Beljajeva then produced an excellent performance to level the score. However, the tie was short-lived and Russia opened up a 30-21 lead after the sixth bout. Estonia was unable to recover from the deficit and suffered a 45-34 semifinal defeat.
In the bronze medal match, Estonia faced the United States, which had lost its semifinal to Italy 38-31. The Americans posed little resistance and the Estonian quartet secured the World Cup bronze medal with a commanding 45-22 victory. Russia went on to win the event, defeating Italy 32-31 in a closely contested final.
Estonia's men's épée team defeated Greece 45-31 in the opening round but lost 45-38 to fourth-seeded Italy in the next round. Kazakhstan won the men's competition, beating Russia 45-40 in the final.
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