LA JOLLA, Calif. - The top collegiate fencers in the West converged on La Jolla Saturday as UC San Diego hosted an NCAA Regional at Main Gym on campus.
Joining UCSD on the strips were Air Force and Stanford. The Cardinal took gold in all six events, while three Tritons finished on the podium. UC San Diego had a total of 23 athletes competing, 12 men and 11 women.
For the men, Stanford is ranked 10th nationally, while Air Force and UCSD are receiving votes in the CollegeFencing360.com poll. For the women, all three squads are receiving votes.
UCSD's Drew Dickinson was second in men's sabre, while Adam Campbell-Kruger placed third in men's epee and Munira Gesner was third in women's sabre.
Also competing for the Tritons in men's epee were Luc Ginestet (7th), Eduard Zilinskiy (9th) and Alex Mann (11th). Stanford's Jake Harbour won the event, while James Salem of Air Force placed second.
UCSD had Keric Moore (4th), Joseph Schenkel (5th), Alex Lavin (6th) and Jeffrey Chan (7th) entered in men's foil. Alexander Massialas of Stanford, a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team, took gold and was followed by teammate Turner Caldwell and Falcon Alex Chiang.
In men's sabre, Bryson Abilay (6th), Travis Tibbitts (8th) and Peter Meckling (9th) joined Dickinson. Once again, a member of the Cardinal topped the field as Daniel Wolfson took first place.
UCSD sent out Natalie Chan (4th), Andrea Gory (6th) and Laura Hawkins (7th) in women's epee. Stanford went 1-2 with Francesca Bassa and Vivian Kong taking first and second, respectively. Jessica Steuber of Air Force was third.
Alina Marshall (4th), Nicole Chiang (5th), Victoria Parra (6th) and Amrit Khalsa (8th) represented the Tritons in women's foil. Stanford's Lily McElwee was first and was followed by a pair from the Academy as Mary McElwee was second and Madeleine Girardot was third.
Fencing alongside Gesner in women's sabre was Alexandra Stanley (5th), Megan Gesner (6th) and Karinne Caisse (7th). The Cardinal owned the top two spots in Avery Youngblood and Atira Richards.
UCSD head coach Heidi Runyan was named the West Region Coach of the Year.
Typically, the top-two finishers in each weapon at the regional qualify for the NCAA Championships. At-large berths are also awarded based on a competitor's season results. This year's qualifiers will offically be announced on Tuesday, March 12.
Munira Gesner was one of two Tritons that qualfied for last season's NCAA Championship in Columbus, Ohio.
This year's NCAA finalé will take place March 21-24 in San Antonio, Texas.
NCAA West Regional
March 9, 2013
Main Gym
La Jolla, Calif.
Men's Epee
1. Jake Harbour, Stanford
2. James Salem, Air Force
3. Adam Campbell-Kruger, UCSD
4. Nathan Sorensen, Air Force
5. Kian Ameli, Stanford
6. Paul Riviere, Stanford
7. Luc Ginestet, UCSD
8. Cole Connelly, Stanford
9. Eduard Zilinskiy, UCSD
10. Dalton Boatright, Air Force
11. Alex Mann, UCSD
Men's Foil
1. Alexander Massialas, Stanford
2. Turner Caldwell, Stanford
3. Alex Chiang, Air Force
4. Keric Moore, UCSD
5. Joseph Schenkel, UCSD
6. Alex Lavin, UCSD
7. Jeffrey Chan, UCSD
8. Jonathan Lee, Stanford
9. Emerson Woerner, Air Force
10. Daniel Johnson, Air Force
Men's Sabre
1. Daniel Wolfson, Stanford
2. Drew Dickinson, UCSD
3. Ryan Redhead, Air Force
4. Jeremy Klepner, Stanford
5. Cameron Lindsay, Stanford
6. Bryson Abilay, UCSD
7. Emiliano Kaptain, Air Force
8. Travis Tibbitts, UCSD
9. Peter Meckling, UCSD
10. David Beam, Stanford
11. Daniel McHugh, Stanford
Women's Epee
1. Francesca Bassa, Stanford
2. Vivian Kong, Stanford
3. Jessica Steuber, Air Force
4. Natalie Chan, UCSD
5. Olivia Prosseda, Air Force
6. Andrea Gory, UCSD
7. Laura Hawkins, UCSD
Women's Foil
1. Lily McElwee, Stanford
2. Mary McElwee, Air Force
3. Madeleine Girardot, Air Force
4. Alina Marshall, UCSD
5. Nicole Chiang, UCSD
6. Victoria Parra, UCSD
7. Carly Cohen, Stanford
8. Amrit Khalsa, UCSD
9. Amanda Zerbe, Stanford
10. Ashley Chung, Air Force
Women's Sabre
1. Avery Youngblood, Stanford
2. Atira Richards, Stanford
3. Munira Gesner, UCSD
4. Julia Klepner, Stanford
5. Alexandra Stanley, UCSD
6. Megan Gesner, UCSD
7. Karinne Caisse, UCSD
8. Isabel Gueble, Stanford
9. Desirae Ionata, Air Force
10. Allison Egan, Air Force
-- UCSDtritons.com --
