TBILISI, Georgia — Three fencers with UC San Diego ties have been selected by their respective national teams to compete in the upcoming FIE Senior Fencing World Championships. Current Triton
Pia Huber will represent Austria in women's epee, while teammate
Arnav Raja will compete for Australia in men's saber. UC San Diego alum
Vedran Markota will represent Croatia in men's epee.
The competition runs July 22-30 at the Olympic Palace in Tbilisi, Georgia. Huber's event is scheduled for July 22-23, with Raja's July 24-25. Markota will be in action July 26-27. Raja will also compete in a team competition July 27-28, as will Markota July 29-30.
A native of Moedling, Austria, Huber just finished her freshman season with the Tritons as an ecology, behavior and evolution major in Seventh College. She placed 55th at last month's European Championships to finish as the highest-placed Austrian in women's epee.
A native of Yorba Linda, California, Raja just finished his junior season with the Tritons as a cognitive science major in Marshall College. He placed 14th at last month's Asian Championships to finish as the highest-placed Australian in men's saber.
A native of Zagreb, Croatia, Markota graduated from UC San Diego in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in molecular and cell biology. He was an All-American in 2021 and won the Croatian National Epee Championship in 2020.
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 24-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 39 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Divisions I and II.
