UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The University of California San Diego fencing team sits in fourth place following Thursday's opening day of action at the NCAA National Collegiate Championships at host Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center.
The men took to the strips for three rounds of round-robin, five-touch bouts in Epee, Foil, and Saber. Six Tritons combined for 47 victories, landing UC San Diego in fourth in the 15-team tournament.
Sophomore epeeist Vedran Markota, the 2020 Croatian national champion, is in sixth place after posting a 9-6 record. Senior All-American Ziad Khayat, a three-time Nationals qualifier, is 14th with a 7-8 record in Epee.
In Foil, junior All-American Benjamin Hadler, also competing at Nationals for a third time, went 9-6 and is in 11th place, while freshman Lawrence Song won five of his 15 bouts and is 17th.
The Saber event saw sophomore Justin Cho finish his day in seventh with a 9-6 mark and junior Justin Park land in 12th at 8-7. Park qualified for the National Collegiate Championships in 2020 as well, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each weapon has a field of 24 competitors.
Notre Dame is leading with 67 points and is trailed by Penn State (61) and Boston College (51). UC San Diego leads fifth-place NJIT by a single point.
Men's action concludes Friday with two more rounds of round-robin bouts followed by two semifinals and the final. The top four fencers from the round-robin in each weapon move on to the semifinals. The semi winners fence for first and second places, while those not advancing tie for third. All fencers finishing in the top-12 will garner All-America accolades.
The women take over the strips Saturday and Sunday. The team championship will be decided Sunday.
All action at Nationals can be followed with
live video and
live results. In addition, all finals will be broadcast live on
ESPN3.
HEAD COACH JUAN IGNACIO CALDERON SAYS
• "We had a good first round with strong performances across all weapons. We struggled a bit in the second round but managed to bring it up a bit for the third."
• "The strongest performances came from
Vedran Markota (sixth in Epee) and
Justin Cho (seventh in saber). Both were just one win away from being in the top four, which gives access to the individual title. There are eight bouts left in the last two rounds tomorrow and they both have a strong opportunity to close that gap."
• "On the team side, we are where we thought we would be. We need to keep striving for consistency to keep adding wins from every fencer."
THE TEAM
For the first time, UC San Diego is fielding a full team of 12 at Nationals, meaning that two men and two women will compete in each of the three weapons. The Triton roster includes three freshmen, two sophomores, four juniors, and three seniors. UC San Diego is one of just three institutions with a full team as Notre Dame and Penn State also have 12 competitors. Here's a look at UC San Diego's roster.
| Name |
Weapon |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
Major |
| Tean Brooks |
Epee |
Freshman |
Boulder, Colo./Boulder |
Marine Biology |
| Ziad Khayat |
Epee |
Senior |
San Jose, Calif./Zephyr Academy |
Physics |
| Vedran Markota |
Epee |
Sophomore |
Zagreb, Croatia/Gimnazija Zagreb |
Biology |
| Emma Zmurk |
Epee |
Senior |
Alameda, Calif./Alameda |
Developmental Science |
| Benjamin Hadler |
Foil |
Junior |
San Francisco, Calif./Lowell |
Biology |
| Erica Kuen |
Foil |
Junior |
Palo Alto, Calif./Henry M. Gunn |
Cognitive Science |
| Konami Masui |
Foil |
Senior |
Torrance, Calif./North |
Communication |
| Lawrence Song |
Foil |
Freshman |
Mountain View, Calif./The King's Academy |
Cognitive Science |
| Janna Aboudaher |
Saber |
Freshman |
Houston, Texas/St. Agnes Academy |
Aerospace Engineering |
| Justin Cho |
Saber |
Sophomore |
Dallas, Texas/Academy of Math & Science |
Electrical Engineering |
| Julia Hill |
Saber |
Junior |
San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente |
Environmental Systems |
| Justin Park |
Saber |
Junior |
Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills |
Neurobiology |
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About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
Return To Sport… Safely
In order for UC San Diego scholar-athletes to be permitted to return to training and competition safely and within federal, state, local, and university guidelines, the athletic department implemented a number of measures designed to complement and enhance the university's highly-successful Return To Learn program. Notable actions include being physically distanced when practical, including during out-of-season training sessions; wearing masks, except when undergoing physically strenuous exercise; and maintaining proper hygiene. Athletes, coaches, and staff are testing at a higher frequency than the campus population, teams adhere to CDC, NCAA, and Big West Conference guidelines, and department officials participate in regular meetings with conference and university-affiliated physicians and the UC San Diego emergency operations staff.
