EVANSTON, Ill.— Back in action after a successful season opening meet two weeks ago, the UC San Diego fencing team competed in the 2024 Northwestern Duals against some of the top competition from across the country on Saturday and Sunday.   
 
Both Triton men and women's teams finished the weekend with 8-3 overall records in their 11 team bouts at the 2024 edition of the Northwestern Duals.
 
ON THE WOMEN'S SIDE
UC San Diego's women's team had another strong weekend to build on their stellar spring season as they posted 9-2 marks in both the epee and saber to go along with a 7-4 record in foil.
 
Leading the charge for the Tritons was freshman Zehra Anbarlilar's 13-5 performance where she earned key wins against Ohio State, Northwestern and Penn State while gaining 14 Sports Performance Index (SPI) points in the process.
 
WOMEN'S RESULTS

• Detroit Mercy 27-0
• Penn State 17-10
• Northwestern 13-14
• Cornell 13-14
• Cleveland State 26-1
• Temple 18-9
• Boston College 16-11
• Ohio State 13-14
• Fairleigh Dickinson 26-1
• Denison 24-3
• Lawrence 24-3 

ON THE MEN'S SIDE
The Tritons' men's team was equally as impressive in Evanston as foil led the way with a 9-2 record followed by saber's 8-3 mark and epee finishing at 7-4 against the top programs from around the nation.
 
Sophomore Sunny Sharma had a great breakout weekend at Northwestern as he had a team best 16-4 record earning wins against opponents from Notre Dame and Ohio State. His strong weekend helped him earn seven SPI points that helped position him as the top ranked epee fencer for the upcoming Western Regionals.
 
MEN'S RESULTS

• Boston College 13-14
• Wayne State 15-12
• Lawrence 24-3
• Notre Dame 12-15
• Cleveland State 21-6
• Detroit Mercy 24-3
• Detroit Mercy 23-4
• Incarnate Word 20-7
• Ohio State 10-17
• Wayne State 19-8
• Lawrence 25-2

QUOTABLE
"This is one of our best showings at the prestigious Northwestern Duals in program history," UC San Diego head fencing coach Juan Ignacio Calderon said. "I am particularly pleased with the collective team performance and the spirit of the women's team. They beat top ranked teams like Temple, Penn State and Boston College with all three of their losses coming by just one bout to equally strong teams. Their resilience and trust in each other was the model the whole team needs to follow to achieve our long-term goals. This was a great way to close the regular season and start the preparation for regionals and the conference championships."
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will next be back in action in their home gym as they're set to host the NCAA Regionals on March 9 at Main Gym on the UC San Diego campus. UC San Diego will then be back to work the very next day when they host the MPSF Championships on March 10 at LionTree Arena.
 
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.