EVANSTON, Ill. – The UC San Diego fencing team posted strong results at the prestigious Northwestern Duals Saturday and Sunday as the men and women recorded winning records at Ryan Fieldhouse in Illinois.
The Triton women finished their weekend with a 7-5 record, while the men compiled a 6-4 mark. Both squads are receiving votes in the most recent national poll.
------
HOW IT HAPPENED
On the women's side, UC San Diego collected victories against Air Force, Boston College, Cleveland State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Lawrence, Detroit Mercy, and Wayne State. Losses came against some of the top teams in the nation including No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 4 Cornell, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 9 Temple, and No. 14 North Carolina.
Senior
Sarah Shen went 20-11 in Saber, while junior
Alex Brondum and freshman
Rafaella Gomes were 16-9 in Foil.
The men were victorious against No. 9 North Carolina, Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy, Incarnate Word, Lawrence, and Wayne State. They fell to No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 4 Ohio State, Air Force, and Boston College.
Senior
Justin Park compiled a 19-5 record in Saber, while junior
Shawn Kim delivered a 10-2 record in Saber. In Epee, freshman
Isaac Ive went 11-5 and senior
Nathan Jeon went 17-8 in foil.
------
WHAT HEAD COACH JUAN IGNACIO CALDERON HAD TO SAY
"I am really happy with the performance of the team with a positive win ratio for both men and women. That could have been even better on the men side as we suffered injuries during the competition that affected three of our top fencers. This was a great way to close our regular season and focus on the upcoming NCAA Regionals and MPSF Championships as our next and exciting challenges."
------
RESULTS
Saturday, February 5
Men (4-1)
UC San Diego 21, Incarnate Word 6 (E: 5-4, F: 8-1, S: 8-1)
UC San Diego 15, No. 9 North Carolina 12 (E: 5-4, F: 4-5, S: 6-3)
UC San Diego 19, Cleveland State 8 (E: 7-2, F: 5-4, S: 7-2)
No. 1 Notre Dame 18, UC San Diego 9 (E: 5-4, 7-2, 6-3)
UC San Diego 16, Lawrence 11 (E: 5-4, F: 6-3, S: 5-4)
Women (2-3)
No. 4 Cornell 22, UC San Diego 5 (E: 7-2, F: 7-2, S: 8-1)
UC San Diego 18, Air Force 9 (E: 3-6, F: 9-0, S: 6-3)
UC San Diego 23, Cleveland State 4 (E: 6-3, F: 8-1, S: 9-0)
No. 14 North Carolina 22, UC San Diego 5 (E: 5-4, F: 9-0, S: 8-1)
No. 2 Notre Dame 23, UC San Diego 4 (E: 8-1, F: 8-1, S: 7-2)
Sunday, February 6
Men (2-3)
No. 4 Ohio State 18, UC San Diego 9 (E: 6-3, F: 7-2, S: 5-4)
Boston College 17, UC San Diego 10 (E: 7-2, F: 5-4, S: 5-4)
UC San Diego 19, Wayne State 6 (E: 6-3, F; 7-2, S: 6-1)
UC San Diego 24, Detroit Mercy 1 (E: 9-0, F: 9-0, S: 6-1)
Air Force 16, UC San Diego 11 (E: 4-5, F: 6-3, S: 6-3)
Women (5-2)
No. 9 Temple 18, UC San Diego 9 (E: 5-4, F: 7-2, S: 6-3)
UC San Diego 16, Boston College 11 (E: 2-7, F: 9-0, S: 5-4)
UC San Diego 25, Lawrence 2 (E: 9-0, F: 9-0, S: 7-2)
UC San Diego 27, Detroit Mercy 0 (E: 9-0, F: 9-0, S: 9-0)
UC San Diego 23, Wayne State 4 (E: 6-3, F: 8-1, S: 9-0)
No. 6 Ohio State 22, UC San Diego 5 (E: 8-1, F: 7-2, S: 7-2)
UC San Diego 26, Fairleigh Dickinson 1 (E: 8-1, F: 9-0, S: 9-0)
------
THE TRITON LINEUP
Men's Epee:
Brandon Chien,
Andrew Graber,
Isaac Ive,
Vedran Markota,
Justin Phen
Women's Epee:
Logan Daranouvong,
Tiara Kwon,
Samantha Sayson,
Anika Soin
Men's Foil:
Jason Chin,
Daman Heer,
Nathan Jeong,
Lawrence Song
Women's Foil:
Alex Brondum,
Rafaella Gomes,
Erica Kuen,
Kyra Wu
Men's Saber:
Phileas Auray,
Shawn Kim,
Justin Park
Women's Saber:
Roxane Cayrat,
Julia Hill,
Ariane Mohabir,
Sarah Shen
------
FALL 2021 COMPETITION
UC San Diego competed in three events in November and December of 2021.
The Tritons hosted the 25th running of their BladeRunner Tournament at RIMAC Arena, where they fenced to 11 top-10 finishes. Men's Epee produced a big highlight with senior
Ziad Khayat finishing first and freshman
Milan Rona taking second. Junior
Sarah Shen also found the podium with a third-place finish in Women's Saber.
At the Western Invitational hosted by Air Force, junior
Shawn Kim recorded an incredible 19-5 record in Men's Saber. On the women's side, freshmen
Logan Daranouvong and
Rafaella Gomes each went 15-11, Daranouvong in Epee and Gomes in Foil.
To wrap up 2021, the Tritons took part in the Elite Invitational, hosted by Ohio State. The men went 5-1 with wins over Cleveland State, Johns Hopkins, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 7 Penn, and Wayne State. It was the first time they had ever defeated the Buckeyes and Quakers. The women went 4-4, defeating Cleveland State, Denison, Johns Hopkins, and Wayne State.
Kim was tabbed the first-ever MPSF Men's Fencer of the Week in mid-November. Senior saber fencer
Julia Hill earned MPSF Female Fencer of the Week in early December.
------
THE 2022 NATIONAL COLLEGIATE FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS
The NCAA National Collegiate Fencing Championships are scheduled for March 23-26 at Notre Dame in Indiana. In 2021, UC San Diego placed a program-best seventh as the Tritons fielded a full team of 12 for the first time ever.
------
UP NEXT
The Tritons will be heading to San Antonio, Texas, for two major events. The NCAA Regionals will take place March 12 while the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships will follow on March 13. Both will be held at the Alice P. McDermott Center.
This is the first season that the MPSF is sponsoring collegiate fencing. Joining UC San Diego in the league are Air Force, Incarnate Word, and Stanford.
------
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 has begun a new era 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 garnered 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
