SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – Junior
Shawn Kim of the UC San Diego fencing team won his second title in as many days as he won the Men's Saber event Sunday at the inaugural Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships.
The University of the Incarnate Word hosted the event at the Alice P. McDermott Center.
Kim edged teammate
Justin Park, a senior, by a score of 15-14 in the final duel to become the first-ever MPSF Men's Saber Champion. In the semifinals, Kim won by the same tight score over Noah Matricciani of Stanford in the semifinal round.
Saturday, Kim successfully defended his West Region Saber Champion title after coming out on top at the NCAA West Regionals, also held in San Antonio.
In other weapons Sunday, junior
Vedran Markota was second in Men's Epee, freshman
Rafaella Gomes took second in Women's Foil, senior
Sarah Shen placed second in Women's Saber, senior
Julia Hill tied for third in Women's Saber, and sophomore
Lawrence Song tied for third in Men's Foil.
Shen won the Women's Saber event at Saturday's West Regionals.
Stanford came out on top in the mixed relay team competition, defeating Incarnate Word in the finals.
This is the first season that the MPSF is sponsoring the sport of fencing. Joining UC San Diego as members are Air Force, Incarnate Word, and Stanford.
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RESULTS
Men's Epee
1. Julia Spier, Incarnate Word
2. Vedran Markota, UC San Diego
T-3. Matthew Han, Air Force
T-3. Aiden Kung, Stanford
Men's Foil
1. Lucas Orts, Stanford
2. Nestor Levin, Air Force
T-3. Jake Thayer, Incarnate Word
T-3. Lawrence Song, UC San Diego
Men's Saber
1
. Shawn Kim, UC San Diego
2. Justin Park, UC San Diego
T-3. Brendan Barber, Incarnate Word
T-3. Noah Matricciani, Stanford
Women's Epee
1. Rodaina Gaafar, Incarnate Word
2. Jocelyn Ratzlaff, Air Force
T-3. Rylie Rueda, Incarnate Word
T-3. Hanna Lee, Stanford
Women's Foil
1. Haley Koo, Stanford
2. Rafaella Gomes, UC San Diego
T-3. Naia Slowinski, Incarnate Word
T-3. Sofia Raso, Stanford
Women's Saber
1. Erin Shea, Air Force
2. Sarah Shen, UC San Diego
T-3. Julia Hill, UC San Diego
T-3. Charlotte He, Stanford
Team Mixed Relay
1. Stanford
2. Incarnate Word
T-3. UC San Diego
T-3. Air Force
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NEXT UP
The 2022 NCAA National Collegiate Fencing Championships are scheduled for March 24-27 at Notre Dame in Indiana.
UC San Diego has already automatically qualified five Tritons in
Rafaella Gomes (Women's Foil),
Julia Hill (Women's Saber),
Shawn Kim (Men's Saber),
Justin Park (Men's Saber), and
Sarah Shen (Women's Saber). Those berths were earned based on results from Saturday's West Regionals. The Tritons may add more competitors through at-large bids.
The complete field for Nationals will be announced on Tuesday, March 15, at noon PT via a press release at
NCAA.com.
At the 2021 Nationals, 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 see 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.
