LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego fencers competed abroad and domestically in preparation for MPSF Conference Championships and NCAA Regionals this past week. On the men's side, Isaac Ive, Scott Lao, and Sunny Sharma competed in epee and foil at the Junior Olympics and Junior Pan-American Championships. Rafaella Gomes joined Lao and Sharma at the Junior Pan-American Championships to represent the Triton women in foil.
 
Joining 352 competitors on the strips in Junior Men's Epee, Isaac Ive went 4-1 in pool competition. Entering the tableau with a bye round, Ive went undefeated for 20 rounds before falling to the second-place finisher and taking seventh.


 
Traveling to the Junior Pan-American Championships in Bogota, Colombia Scott Lao represented the U.S. Virgin Islands. Competing in the U20 Men's Foil, Lao finished seventh out of 56 competitors. In pool competition, the freshman went undefeated for five victories. He was victorious in the tableau for four bouts before falling to the second-place finisher.
 
Joining Lao in Bogota, Sunny Sharma competed in Junior Men's Epee with 54 other fencers representing the U.S. Virgin Islands as well. Going 3-3 in pool competition, Sharma earned a bye round and took an upset victory before getting defeated in the tableau. The freshman finished 16th overall.


 
On the following day, Rafaella Gomes represented Brazil in the Junior Women's Foil. In pool competition, Fomes went 3-2 and went on 1-1 in the tableau. Falling to the fifth place finisher, Gomes finished 14th overall out of 43 competitors.

UP NEXT
The Tritons head to Stanford, Calif. to compete at the NCAA Regionals on March 11 and then at the MPSF Conference Championships on March 12.

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.