PHILADELPHIA — The women's squad led UC San Diego fencing to a strong showing this weekend at the Dave Micahnik Penn Invitational in Philadelphia. The women went 7-2, while the men were 5-3.
 
Those seven victories included the women's team beating No. 8 Penn and No. 14 Temple. The Triton men entered the weekend ranked No. 15 nationally and lost to the two ranked teams they faced, but only by one to No. 8 Duke.
 
Freshman Piper Randolph was the top performer on the women's side, going a perfect 11-0. Fellow freshmen Nurzhan Abzhanov led the men with a 12-3 record.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Friday's matches were hosted by Temple. The Triton women had three, winning each one and finishing the evening with a 16-11 win over the nationally-ranked hosts. The Triton men only had two matches, falling to Johns Hopkins before beating Lafayette.
 
Saturday's matches were hosted by Penn. The Triton men started the morning out with two top-10 opponents in No. 8 Duke and No. 7 Penn, falling to both. The squad then went on a winning streak to close out the day with four wins over NJIT, Haverford, Lafayette and Sacred Heart.
 
The Triton women were 4-2 on day two. They also started off the day with two ranked sides, falling to No. 5 Duke before knocking off No. 8 Penn. The Tritons' other loss of the day came in the afternoon at the hands of No. 12 Cornell. They secured wins over NJIT, Lafayette and Sacred Heart to round out their seven victories on the weekend.
 
FULL RESULTS
Women's Team

• Johns Hopkins – W, 16-11
• Lafayette – W, 26-1
• No. 14 Temple – W, 16-11
• No. 5 Duke – L, 9-18
• No. 8 Penn – W, 14-13
• NJIT – W, 23-4
• No. 12 Cornell – L, 12-15
• Lafayette – W, 24-3
• Sacred Heart – W, 26-1

Men's Team

• Johns Hopkins – L, 12-15
• Lafayette – W, 26-1
• No. 8 Duke – L, 13-14
• No. 7 Penn – L, 7-20
• NJIT – W, 15-12
• Haverford – W, 19-8
• Lafayette – W, 24-3
• Sacred Heart – W, 20-7

TRITON TIDBITS

• The women's team's win over Penn was the first in program history.
• Randolph is the first Triton to go undefeated at an event in at least the last three seasons.

QUOTABLE
"This was an excellent weekend for our program," head coach Juan Ignacio Calderon said. "Our success was highlighted by strong squad performances and important wins against ranked opponents such as Temple and Penn on the women's side—most notably our first-ever victory over Penn. Our preparation showed throughout the weekend, as the team competed with confidence, focus and collective determination. With two weeks ahead of us, our attention now turns to preparing for the Northwestern Duals and closing out the regular season on a high note."
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will be back in action later this month at the Northwestern Duals Jan. 31-Feb. 1. That is the final regular season event of the season.
 
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 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 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 NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.