COLUMBUS, Ohio – With the 2024 fencing regular season in the rear view mirror, the UC San Diego fencing team is excited to be sending a quartet of representatives to the 2024 NCAA Fencing National Championships hosted by Ohio State.

Competition for this weekend's tournament begins on Thursday, March 21 and will conclude on Sunday, March 24 with various bouts scattered throughout the weekend. The four Tritons set to compete for UC San Diego this weekend include: Arnav Raja (saber), Hananiah So (saber), Scott Lao (foil) and Renee Zuhars (epee). 

Fencers will compete in a round-robin format of five-touch bouts. After round robin, the top-four finishers in each weapon will fence in semifinal 15-touch bouts, with winners fencing to determine first and second places, and non-advancing fencers being awarded a tie for third place.

For more information about the fencing championships log on to ncaa.com. A live feed of semifinal and final bouts will be available at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN+. Semifinals and finals, along with other championships highlights, will air on ESPNU at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, April 3.

SCHEDULE
Thursday, March 21: 

Women's Epee rounds 1-3: 6:00 a.m. PT

Friday, March 21: 

Women's Epee rounds 4-5 6:00 a.m. PT

Saturday, March 23: 

Men's Saber rounds 1-3 10:30 a.m. PT

Sunday, March 24:

Men's Saber rounds 4-5 6:00 a.m. PT

2023-24 CAPTAINS
 
Team Captains
Larry Song – Men's Foil
Janna Aboudaher – Women's Saber
 
Academic Captain
Jason Chin – Men's Foil
 
Squad Captains
Saber:
Phileas Auray – Men's Saber
Zara Fearns – Women's Saber
 
Epee:
Sunny Sharma – Men's Epee
Renee Zuhars – Women's Epee
 
Foil:
Jacob Levy – Men's Foil
Kyra Wu – Women's Foil

THE WEAPONS
• Epee
Epee is the heaviest of the weapons. The target to score points is the entire body. It is the only weapon where points can be awarded to both sides if there is a double touch.
• Foil
Foil is the lightest of the three weapons and enacts a rule called right-of-way. Whoever is coming forward with the attack gets the point unless their opponent takes the right-of-way from them by parrying (deflecting/blocking) their blade. The target area for scoring points is the chest and the torso, marked by a light metallic vest called a lamé. 
• Sabre
Sabre also employs the right-of-way rule, but sabreurs and sabreuses slash instead of stab. Sabre touches happen so quickly that the referees won't even start the three-minute clock used to time the bout.

FENCING GLOSSARY
• Advance: Take a step towards one's opponent.
• Attack: Movement or series of movements by which a fencer tries to score a point. In foil and saber, the fencer who attacks first acquires the "right-of-way." In order to execute an attack properly (i.e. one that the referee will acknowledge), the fencer's hand must be clearly extending towards their opponent's valid target in a threatening manner.
• Beat: Sharp tap on the opponent's blade to initiate an attack or provoke a reaction.
• En Garde: Position taken before fencing commences.
• Feint: A false attack intended to get a defensive reaction from the opposing fencer, thus creating the opportunity for a genuine attack ("feint-disengage attack").
• Fleche: Explosive, running attack (foil and epee only).
• Flunge: Action unique to sabre – a combination of a lunge and a fleche. Evolved recently after the FIE modified sabre rules in 1992 to prohibit running attacks.
• Lunge: Most common attacking technique, in which the fencer launches themselves at their opponent by pushing off from the back leg (which generally remains stationary).
• Parry: Defensive action in which a fencer blocks his opponent's blade.
• Point-in-Line: Action in which the fencer, who is generally out of attacking range, points their weapon at their opponent with their arm fully extended. A fencer who establishes a point in line has right-of-way, and their opponent cannot attack until they remove the blade from line by executing a beat.
• Recover: The return to the en guarde position after lunging.
• Riposte: Defender's offensive action immediately after parrying their opponent's attack.
• Second Intention: A tactic in which a fencer executes a convincing, yet false, action in hopes of drawing a true, committed reaction from their opponent.
• Stop Hit, Stop Cut (sabre only): A counter-action made at the moment of an opponent's hesitation, feint, or poorly executed attack. To be awarded the point, the fencer attempting to stop hit must clearly catch their opponent's tempo. Hence, if their Stop Hit is not "in time," the referee may award the touch to their attacker.
• Strip: Fencing area, 14 meters long by 2 meters wide.
• Touch: Score a point.
 
BE SOCIAL
The UC San Diego Fencing Team can be found on Facebook, Instagram (@ucsdfencing), and Twitter (@ucsdfencing). 
 
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.