Emie Fernandez of the Jose Rizal University struck gold in the women's division of the NCAA Season 96 poomsae standard competition Tuesday.
Only in her rookie year, Fernandez bested seven other participants after nailing a performance that earned her a tally of 7.550 points.
Coming in at second place was Diane Nicole Supangan of the College of Saint Benilde with 7.284 while San Beda University's Lara Alejandrea Andres settled for the bronze medal with a finish of 6.867 points.
Fernandez said ruling the competition was a bit of a surprise since her training for the past months was not enough compared to their usual routine pre-pandemic.
"It's very unexpected on my part because this is my first time to play in the NCAA and our training was really not enough," she said moments after her victory.
She also said that she's dedicating her win to her parents and coaches who stuck by her during the unprecedented times brought by the pandemic.
"I think I just train as hard as I can and with the help of my coaches and continuous praying, I was able to win."
"First I would like to thank my parents because they have been supportive in my career ever since I was a kid."
Watch ‘Rise Up Stronger: NCAA Season 96’ on GTV every weekday (2:45 p.m.), Saturdays (4:30 p.m.), and Sundays (5:05 p.m.) on GTV.
—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News
