COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - For the first time the University of California San Diego fencing team has won Western Fencing Conference (WFC) titles on both the women's and men's sides.

The double crowns were earned Sunday as the WFC Team Championships were contested at Clune Arena on the campus of the United States Air Force Academy. All four WFC programs were competing including Air Force, Incarnate Word, and Stanford, along with UC San Diego.

"We showed tremendous character on the strip today," said third-year UC San Diego head coach Juan Ignacio Calderon. "This is one of those days to remember and build a future upon."

The Triton women continued their dominance in the conference, winning their sixth championship in the last seven years. The women defeated Air Force (21-6), Incarnate Word (25-2), and Stanford (20-7) today. They also took home league titles in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020.

It was the first-ever WFC championship for the Triton men. In 2020, they finished second, just one touch behind Air Force. This year, they took a 17-10 victory against the Falcons to go along with wins against Incarnate Word (20-7) and Stanford (25-2).

On Saturday, the same teams went up against one another in the West Invitational at Cadet Gym on the Air Force Academy campus. The Triton women and men combined to go 6-0, highlighted by the men nipping Air Force by a 14-13 count.

"We knew the conference title would be decided between Air Force and us," said Calderon. "On Saturday, the men narrowly beat them and the women had a much more comfortable margin. We were exhausted and we felt the effects of competing at altitude against a very strong host. We have traditionally struggled on the second day of competition, but this time we dug deep and found the energy. We came out unbelievably strong, taking an early lead that allowed us to beat Air Force 17-10 for the men and 21-6 for the women.

On the men's side, Air Force saber fencer Matthew Goode had an impressive record of 16 wins spread across the two days. Other standout performances came from Air Force foilist Nester Levin, who totaled 11 wins. UC San Diego freshman Larry Song and junior Ben Hadler both had 11 victories as well in foil. In epee, Triton sophomore Vedran Markota led with 10 wins. For the University of the Incarnate Word, epeeist Brandon Benavides and foilist Jake Thayer paced the team with seven wins each. 

On the women's side, Stanford freshman Haley Koo boasted 16 wins in foil with epeeist Irene Yeu close behind with 15 victories. Cardinal saber fencer Joy Yun also did well across the two days with 13 victories, tied with UC San Diego junior Julia Hill. Additionally, Incarnate Word's Sasha Rebchunovska had nine wins.

Qualifiers for the 2021 National Collegiate Championships will be named on March 18. The National Collegiate Championships will be hosted by Penn State University March 25-28.

Prior to this weekend, the last time UC San Diego competed was on March 7 of 2020 at the West Regionals, which was also hosted by the United States Air Force Academy. The Tritons then earned five automatic qualifiers for the National Collegiate Championships - Benjamin Hadler (foil), Ziad Khayat (epee), Shawn Kim (saber), and Justin Park (saber) for the men and Amelia Harrison (epee) for the women. Nationals were set for March 19-22 in Detroit, but on March 12, exactly one week before the event was to begin, the NCAA canceled its remaining winter and spring championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

West Invitational
Saturday, March 6 - Cadet Gym
Men
UC San Diego 14, Air Force 13 (E: 5-4, F: 6-3, S: 3-6)
UC San Diego 23, Incarnate Word 4 (E: 6-3, F: 8-1, S: 9-0)
UC San Diego 24, Stanford 3 (Saber only)
 
Women
UC San Diego 17, Air Force 10 (E: 4-5, F:6-3, S: 7-2)
UC San Diego 24, Incarnate Word 3 (E: 7-2, F: 8-1, S: 9-0)
UC San Diego 19, Stanford 8 (E: 5-4, F: 7-2, S: 7-2)
 
Western Fencing Conference Team Championships
Sunday, March 7 - Clune Arena
Men
UC San Diego 17, Air Force 10 (E: 6-3, F: 7-2, S: 4-5)
UC San Diego 25, Stanford 2 (Saber only)
UC San Diego 20, Incarnate Word 7 (E: 5-4, F: 6-3, S: 9-0)
 
Women
UC San Diego 21, Air Force 6 (E: 7-2, F: 6-3), S: 8-1)
UC San Diego 20, Stanford 7 (E: 6-3, F: 7-2, S: 7-2)
UC San Diego 25, Incarnate Word 2 (E: 9-0, F: 7-2, S: 9-0)

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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.