LA JOLLA, Calif. – The 2023-24 athletic year has come and gone, it was an exciting year in the Tritons' final chapter of the transition to full-time Division I status beginning this August.

UC San Diego's fencing team is ecstatic for the calendar to reach the fall as they prepare to begin their quest to remain a top west coast program, as well as sending as many scholar-athletes as possible to the NCAA Championships in April 2025. Head fencing coach Juan Ignacio Calderon enters his sixth season leading the Tritons' program and is ecstatic to continue building upon his team's strong core while sprinkling in a few exciting new additions to the squad. 

Calderon capped off last season by earning his first MPSF Coach of the Year award and leading four scholar-athletes (Scott Lao, Arnav Raja, Hananiah So and Renee Zuhars) to the 2024 NCAA Fencing Championships in Columbus, Ohio. 

Below is a question and answer discussion between Calderon and UC San Diego's athletic communications staff. Questions and answers are edited for clarity and brevity. 

Q: It was an eventful season for your program beginning with BladeRunner back in September, how did that initial meet help set the tone for your team in 2023-24? 

JIC: BladeRunner is a premier fencing event that marks the beginning of the fencing season for us and the entire fencing community on the West Coast. It's a great opportunity to establish a starting point for our scholar-athletes, providing a clear predictor of what we can expect and what areas we need to work on. This event sets the tone and momentum for the rest of the season. 

Q: Working with a large team that's full of diverse scholar-athletes with unique talents, how can you as a coach find a way to maximize each weapons group for team and individual competition? 

JIC: It's definitely a big challenge, but we manage it through detailed planning, weapon-specific coaches and the invaluable support of the squad captains we select each year. This combination ensures that every athlete gets the attention and training they need to excel both individually and as part of the team. 

Q: Opening the winter season your team traveled across the country to compete at the Philadelphia Invitational and saw strong performances up and down the roster. What was the team able to do to enjoy the success they earned?

JIC: The success in Philadelphia was a direct result of the hard work put in during the fall. The women's team, in particular, rose to the challenge, leading to one of the season's highlights when the women's epee squad went undefeated in Philadelphia. The dedication and effort during the fall truly paid off during the winter. 

Q: Another highlight on the calendar this last season was being able to host the NCAA Regionals and MPSF Championships the same weekend on campus. How was that experience for you and the team to be able to showcase the UC San Diego campus and the growth of your team? 

JIC: Hosting both events was a tremendous experience for the team and the department. It required a lot of preparation, but the hard work was worth it. We received numerous messages from scholar-athletes from different schools praising the event, some even stating it was more memorable than the NCAA Championships held two weeks later. Such feedback makes me incredibly proud and validates all of our efforts. We believe in contributing to our community, whether the means in the fencing world, the athletic department or UC San Diego. 

Q: Following the MPSF Championships you were named the MPSF Coach of the Year, what did that honor mean to you? 

JIC: It's a significant honor, especially since we joined the MPSF just three years ago. Being a part of such a prestigious conference has been a fantastic experience for our program, and receiving this awards is particularly special. 

Q: To wrap up the season you along with four scholar-athletes were selected to compete at the NCAA Championships at Ohio State. What did it mean to see your athletes compete against the best collegiate fencers in the country? 

JIC: We fence many of the top fencers during the regular season because we have always put together a demanding schedule, but certainly at the NCAA Championships you get them all at once which is always very exciting but it also means we are among them. It is a competition that favors consistency and everybody fences each other which is a total of 23 bouts. Experience matters and that particularly was proven with Renee Zuhars who finished 15th but with real chances of getting a top eight as everything was so close. 

Q: When you think back to the 2024 graduating class, what are some of the things that stand out? 

JIC: Every class is special, but the 2024 graduating class is particularly memorable. They joined us at the height of the pandemic, facing unprecedented challenges. We practiced in small groups, and they barely met until the end of that year. This group is incredibly brave, including five captains and three NCAA Championship qualifiers. I'm excited to see their future achievements, as they are a significant part of our team's history. 

Q: Finally, looking ahead to the future what can you tell us about the incoming 2024-25 freshman class set to join the Triton family?

JIC: The incoming class is exceptionally talented and diverse. We have future computer scientists, bio-engineers, doctors, psychologists, chemists and more, seven women and four men from the west coast, east coast and internationally. All of them have competed at the highest national levels, and many have international experience. This group's diverse talents and backgrounds will undoubtedly make us stronger than ever. I'm confident that this will be a memorable year, both on and off and the strip. Keep an eye on us -- you won't be disappointed. 

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 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 84 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.