LA JOLLA, Calif. – The BladeRunner Tournament returned to Liontree Arena at RIMAC for the 26th time on Saturday and Sunday. The prestigious tournament hosted fencers from all over the world, including several internationally renowned competitors.
 
Liontree's hardwood disappeared as over 800 fencers descended on the arena and the strips rolled out. All six weapons (men's/women's epee, men's/women's foil, men's/women's saber) were contested at both the Division I-A and Junior levels. The Tritons competed at the Division 1-A tier. 
 
Head coach Juan Ignacio Calderon commented, "BladeRunner is widely recognized as the best fencing event on the west coast, and all [the competitors] look forward to a great experience at the Liontree Arena and our beautiful campus."
 
The Tritons came away with 8 podium appearances and 15 top-10 finishes.
 
On day one, Janna Aboudaher and Zara Fearns led the way in the Women's Saber, taking eighth and tenth, respectively.
 
In the afternoon, Rafaella Gomes made the Tritons' first podium appearance tying for third in the Women's Foil. Finishing day one with a resounding result, the Tritons had a one-two-three finish in Men's Epee. Isaac Ive finished first, followed by Derek Rong and Milan Rona in the second and third. Vedran Markota took sixth for the Tritons. Ive landed 30 touches in pool competition and 85 in the tableau.
 
On day two, Mia Wu tied for third in Women's Epee with Renee Zuhars in eighth and Bella Balogh in tenth. In the Men's Foil, Lawrence Song also tied for third with Lucas Zeng in seventh and Brandon Kim in eighth.
 
Finishing off the tournament, Men's Saber did a one-two placement with Shawn Kim taking first followed by Jerry Pan in second. Kim finished the night with 27 touches in pool competition and 90 in the tableau. 
 
Part of the Regional Open Circuit (ROC), BladeRunner allows high-level fencers to earn regional points in order to compete in national tournaments.
 
Calderon added, "These two days were a great test for the team. Next weekend we will compete in the West Invitational held at the Air Force Academy, against the top school in the country, and BladeRunner allowed us to prepare for it."

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TRITON DIVISION 1-A RESULTS
Men's Epee
1. Isaac Ive
2. Derek Rong
T3. Milan Rona
6. Vedran Markota
17. Nolan Yumiaco
19. Daniel Wong
40. Andrew Graber
46. Sunny Sharma
71. Justin Phen

Women's Epee
T3. Mia Wu
8. Renee Zuhars
10. Bella Balogh
T38. Tean Brooks
T38. Samantha Sayson
45. Anika Soin
47. Tiara Kwon

Men's Foil
T3. Lawrence Song
7. Lucas Zeng
8. Brandon Kim
14. Jacob Levy
17. Jason Chin

Women's Foil
T3. Rafaella Gomes
13. Seneca Yu
15. Emily Luo
17. Alyssa De La Cruz
33. Joanne Luong

Men's Saber
1. Shawn Kim
2. Jerry Pan
T12. Daniel Noble

Women's Saber
8. Janna Aboudaher
10. Zara Fearns
18. Roxane Cayrat
19. Maya Desai
26. Sarah Shen

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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 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.