LA JOLLA, Calif. - The University of California San Diego men's and women's fencing programs are poised to compete as members of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) as the conference announced Monday the addition of fencing to its list of sponsored sports beginning with the upcoming 2021-22 academic year.
MPSF Fencing will feature the United States Air Force Academy, Stanford University, the University of California San Diego, and the University of the Incarnate Word. Each of these four programs enter the MPSF after an historical season in the Western Fencing Conference (WFC), with all four advancing to the NCAA National Collegiate Championships to finish off record-setting campaigns.
The inaugural MPSF Fencing Individual and Team Championships are scheduled for March 13, 2022, hosted by UIW in San Antonio, Texas. The NCAA Regionals will be held the day prior on March 12, also hosted by UIW, with the top-four fencers in each of the three weapons for both genders advancing to the next day's MPSF Individual Semifinals. There will also be a single combined MPSF Team Championship, in which the four schools will compete in the semifinals followed by those winners battling for a conference title.
The news marks the first time in 11 years the conference has added a sport, when swimming and diving jumped on board for the 2010-11 season.
"We are extremely excited to add fencing to the MPSF," says first year MPSF Executive Director Foti Mellis. "This is a sport with a strong Olympic history, and it continues to show fast growth in the United States and in the world."
"Starting this year, the WFC will change its name to the Western Fencing Coalition," continued Mellis. "The coalition board will play an integral role in the development of fencing and its 10by30 initiative. The long-term initiative would put 10 NCAA Western Region Varsity Fencing programs on the map by 2030. In collaboration with the Western Fencing Coalition, the MPSF looks forward to promoting and supporting our programs and further developing the sport out west."
"This is a very important milestone for the efforts we have been part of to expand collegiate fencing in the West Region," said UC San Diego head coach Juan Ignacio Calderon. "We are excited about the opportunities to grow by adding other schools, an objective that the Western Fencing Coalition is driving with its 10by30 initiative. The partnership between the MPSF, the WFC, and all the schools in the west will transform our sport moving forward."
Contested at Air Force In 2021, the UC San Diego women won their sixth Western Fencing Conference title in the last seven years, while the Triton men claimed their first title in program history. In the NCAA Championships, UC San Diego placed a program-best seventh, and was one of just three teams in the country to send a full squad of 12 competitors, with two athletes from each gender competing in each of the three weapons. The Tritons also came away with three All-American honors in Benjamin Hadler (Foil), Vedran Markota (Epee), and Emma Zmurk (Epee).
Fencing will be the third sport in which the Tritons compete in the MPSF, joining the men's and women's swimming & diving teams.
Air Force placed ninth at the NCAA's, after sending a program record 10 fencers to the national competition. The Falcons turned in their best team finish since 2003. The Academy also partakes in men's and women's gymnastics in the MPSF.
Stanford finished 11th nationally, matching its highest NCAA finish since 2018. The Cardinal had each of their four female competitors earn All-American honors. Stanford also recorded a program-best .651 individual win percentage (123-66) through the 2021 season. No other university can be found more than Stanford in the MPSF, which also competes in men's gymnastics, men's volleyball, and men's and women's water polo.
UIW is coming off its highest-ever NCAA finish, placing 14th. The first Cardinals' program to enter the MPSF, the program placed four fencers on the All-WFC teams and qualified a school record six for last year's NCAA's.
The addition of fencing brings a total of 33 institutions and 64 teams competing in the MPSF. This past spring, the conference reached a milestone of 100 total NCAA Division I Team Championships dating back to its initial season in 1992-93.
MPSF Fencing information, including specific championship details such as tournament format and live streaming, will be forthcoming on the conference website at mpsports.org and on upcoming MPSF Fencing social media pages.
"With the support of the MPSF, fencing is going to be exciting to follow and watch next season," said Calderon.
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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 II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 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.
