PHILADELPHIA — The UC San Diego fencing team's trip to this weekend's Philadelphia Invitational featured several standout performances and quality wins across the strips for the Tritons. The women's team finished with a 4-3 record and two ranked victories, while the men went 3-5, with all three wins coming over ranked opponents.

The women were led by sophomore foilist Zehra Anbarlilar, who finished 17-2 across the team's seven bouts. Senior Kyra Wu also had a strong weekend on foil, going 13-7 to reach 100 career victories. The women's foil squad nearly went undefeated on the weekend but lost by just one point to both No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 7 Penn.

Temple University hosted Friday's action at the Owls' Temple Pavilion. Saturday's competition was contested at the Tse Center on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.

ON THE MEN'S SIDE
The No. 15 Tritons kicked off the invitational with a 17-10 win over No. 14 Johns Hopkins on Friday. All three weapons out-scored JHU, with foil and epee's 6-3 results the best of the bout. UC San Diego then concluded day one with losses to No. 4 Princeton and North Carolina.

All five of the Tritons' opponents on Saturday were nationally ranked, and the men's team picked up wins over No. 11 NYU and No. 13 Sacred Heart. The saber team was a combined 13-5 in those two contests.

A 6-3 result from the epee squad against No. 5 Penn State gave the Tritons a fighting chance in that bout, but they ultimately lost by one point. UC San Diego was also bested by No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 7 Penn.

Junior Jacob Levy was the team's top-performing foilist with a 10-6 record, which included two wins against both No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 4 Princeton. The epee team was led by junior Sunny Sharma, who finished 12-9. Freshman Sam Zubatiy went 12-10 to turn in the best performance on saber.

MEN'S RESULTS
Friday

• No. 14 Johns Hopkins 17-10
• No. 4 Princeton 8-19
• North Carolina 11-16

Saturday

• No. 7 Penn 11-16
• No. 11 NYU 15-12
• No. 2 Notre Dame 8-19
• No. 5 Penn State 13-14
• No. 13 Sacred Heart 17-10

ON THE WOMEN'S SIDE
The women had only two contests on Friday, besting Johns Hopkins 20-7 before falling by one point to No. 11 Temple. The epee team was particularly strong for the Tritons that afternoon as the group was 8-1 against JHU.

On Saturday UC San Diego faced four ranked schools, beating two as part of a 3-2 record on the day. Saber had a 7-2 performance in both ranked wins as the Tritons toppled No. 8 Cornell and No. 13 Penn State. The weapon stayed hot in the final bout of the day, going 9-0 along with the foil team as the Tritons beat Sacred Heart 25-2.

The victory over Cornell was the first in program history, while the result against Penn State marked the second-ever win for the Triton women versus the Nittany Lions.

The team nearly opened the day with an upset of No. 7 Penn but lost by one. The Tritons' other Saturday defeat came at the hands of No. 2 Notre Dame.

Junior Zara Fearns lead the saber squad with a 12-6 record. The top epee performance came from freshman Alice Lan, who was 11-3.

WOMEN'S RESULTS
Friday

• Johns Hopkins 20-7
• No. 11 Temple 13-14

Saturday

• No. 7 Penn 13-14
• No. 8 Cornell 20-7
• No. 2 Notre Dame 10-17
• No. 13 Penn State 18-9
• Sacred Heart 25-2

QUOTABLE
"The women's team delivered an exceptionally strong performance, solidifying our place among the top-seeded teams this year," head coach Juan Ignacio Calderon said. "Our success was marked by balanced contributions across all squads, but I must highlight the extraordinary endurance, focus and fighting spirit of the women's foil squad, led by sophomore Zehra Anbarlilar, who achieved an impressive 17-2 record over the weekend. I am equally proud of the men's team for their resilience. Despite last-minute injuries and illness, they showed determination and fought hard. I am confident we will see a stronger record in just a few weeks at Northwestern."

UP NEXT
The Tritons next head to Illinois for the Northwestern Duals Feb. 1-2. That event will be the team's final regular season competition of the year.

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.