LA JOLLA, Calif. – On Tuesday, May 2 the United States Fencing Coaches Association announced the finalists for the 2022-23 NCAA Awards including UC San Diego head coach Juan Ignacio Calderon as a finalist for the Men's Team Collegiate Coach of the Year.
 
During the 2022-23 season, Calderon coached his men's squad to an impressive 14-6 dual record. He also notched his 100th win milestone this season in his time as the head coach of the UC San Diego fencing programs. Over his five years as head coach, he is 51-31 in duals overall.
 
Eight Tritons earned postseason honors from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Conference and the USFCA. Five Triton men represented UC San Diego at the NCAA Championships. A notable finisher was Vedran Markota who earned first team honors for both MPSF and USFCA after becoming the West Region Champion in men's epee.
 
In the classroom, 19 scholar-athletes were recognized for their academic prowess, nine were from the men's fencing squad.
 
The finalists were selected from member nominations of athletes and coaches from across NCAA divisions. Award winners will be selected by a vote of USFCA collegiate member coaches and announced during the week of May 8th. The finalists for the 2022-23 season are presented in the PDF attachment and can be found here.
 
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.