LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego fencing team begins its postseason this weekend as it travels to San Antonio, Texas, for the NCAA West Regionals as well as the inaugural Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships. 

The University of the Incarnate Word is hosting both events at the Alice P. McDermott Center, with the regionals taking place on Saturday, March 12, and the conference championships happening on Sunday, March 13.

The NCAA Regionals will help establish qualifiers for the upcoming 2022 National Collegiate Fencing Championships.

This is the first season that the MPSF is sponsoring men's and women's fencing. Aside from UC San Diego, members include Air Force, Incarnate Word, and Stanford.

Action can be followed with live video as well as live results through FencingTime.com. All links can be found below.

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THE SCHEDULE
NCAA West Regionals
• Saturday, March 12
• Alice P. McDermott Center
• San Antonio, Texas
• Tickets ($10/day)
• Live Video (free)
• Live Results (free)

All Times Pacific
6:30am: Men's Epee Pools (3 pools of 5)
6:30am: Men's Foil Pools (1 pool of 13)
7:00am: Men's Saber Pools (1 pool of 12)
10:30am: Women's Epee Pools (1 pool of 12)
10:30am: Women's Foil Pools (1 pool of 11)
10:30am: Women's Saber Pools (1 pool of 11)
1:30pm: Competition ends

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MPSF Championships
• Sunday, March 13
• Alice P. McDermott Center
• San Antonio, Texas
• Tickets ($10/day)
• Live Video ($6.99)
• Live Results (free)

All Times Pacific
7:00am: Women's Foil Individual Semifinals
7:00am: Men's Epee Individual Semifinals
7:30am: Women's Saber Individual Semifinals
7:30am: Men's Foil Individual Semifinals
7:55am: Women's Epee Individual Semifinals
7:55am: Men's Saber Individual Semifinals
8:20am: Men's Epee Individual Final
8:40am: Women's Foil Individual Final
9:05: Men's Foil Individual Final
9:30am: Women's Saber Individual Final
9:50am: Women's Epee Individual Final
10:20am: Men's Saber Individual Final
10:50am: Individual Champions Awards Ceremony
11:45am: Team Relay Direct Elimination Semifinals
12:30pm: Team Relay Direct Elimination Final
1:10pm: MPSF Team Champion Awards Ceremony

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THE TRITON LINEUP
Epee
Men: Brandon Chien, Vedran Markota, Isaac Ive, Andrew Graber, Milan Rona
Women: Ariane Mohabir, Tean Brooks, Anika Soin, Tiara Kwon, Logan Daranouvong

Foil
Men: Nathan Jeon, Rishi Ranadive, Lawrence Song, Jason Chin
Women: Alyssa De La Cruz, Joanne Luong, Kyra Wu, Rafaella Gomes 

Saber
Men: Shawn Kim, Justin Park, Phileas Auray
Women: Maya Desai, Julia Hill, Sarah Shen, Roxane Cayrat

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CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Prior to the MPSF adding fencing this season, the team championships were conducted by the Western Fencing Conference (WFC). The Triton women won six WFC team titles (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021), while the men took the top spot in 2021.

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NCAA WEST REGIONALS
The NCAA West Regionals were last held in March of 2020 at Air Force in Colorado Springs, Colo. (the 2021 event was canceled due to the pandemic). In 2020, UC San Diego came away with five automatic qualifiers for the NCAA National Collegiate Championships due to their performances at regionals. Shawn Kim, a true freshman, was tabbed the West Region Saber Champion. Teammate Justin Park finished second in the weapon. Unfortunately, the 2020 National Collegiate Championships were canceled due to the pandemic.

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THE LAST TIME OUT
UC San Diego's most recent competition came at the prestigious Northwestern Duals on February 5 and February 6. The Triton women finished with a 7-5 record, while the men compiled a 6-4 mark.

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.

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FALL 2021 REWIND
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.

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2021-22 HONOR ROLL
• Senior saber fencer Sarah Shen was the UCSDTritons.com Athlete of the Week in early November as she battled to a third-place finish in Division 1-A at UC San Diego's own BladeRunner tournament.

• Junior saber fencer Shawn Kim was tabbed the first-ever MPSF Male Fencer of the Week in mid-November after going 19-5 at the Western Invitational.

• Senior saber fencer Julia Hill earned MPSF Female Fencer of the Week as well as UCSDTritons.com Athlete of the Week honors in early December. She went 18-3 at Ohio State's Elite Invitational.

• Freshman epeeist Milan Rona picked up UCSDTritons.com Athlete of the Week in early December for compiling a 14-2 mark at Ohio State's Elite Invitational.

• Senior saber fencer Justin Park was honored as the UCSDTritons.com Athlete of the Week in early February after going 19-5 at the Northwestern Duals.

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UP NEXT: THE 2022 NATIONAL COLLEGIATE FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2022 NCAA National Collegiate Fencing Championships are scheduled for March 24-27 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. You can read the recaps and get complete results here.

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BE SOCIAL
The UC San Diego Fencing Team can be found on Facebook, Instagram (@ucsdfencing), and Twitter (@ucsdfencing). We just kicked off a new series called In the Classroom, where the Tritons talk about their majors and some of their favorite classes. Check it out!

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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 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.