SAN ANTONIO — UC San Diego women's fencing successfully defended its Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) title on Sunday, defeating Air Force in the final to repeat as conference champions. The Tritons also won four individual conference titles, two on the men's side and two on the women's side.
 
Nurzhan Abzhanov (men's epee), Zara Fearns (women's saber), Katherine Kim (women's foil) and Jacob Levy (men's foil) won the individual championships. Fearns has now won three-straight MPSF titles, while Levy is a back-to-back champion.
 
Abzhanov, a freshman, won his title in his first career trip to the postseason. Kim, a sophomore, was victorious after finishing as runner-up in 2025.
 
The Triton men were also the defending team champions. They beat host school Incarnate Word in the semifinal round before losing to Air Force in the final.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the individual events, four fencers competed in single-elimination brackets. The team events were also single elimination. With only three schools in the MPSF, the top seed earned a bye to each team final.
 
Seeding for both the individual and team events were based on the results of yesterday's NCAA West Regional Championship.
 
Women's Epee
Natalie Brooke Gebala was the lone Triton in women's epee and started as the two seed. The junior defeated Incarnate Word's Gracyn Githens 15-12 in the semifinals. Gebala was then defeated 15-8 in the final by the top seed, Air Force's Christina Watrall.
 
Women's Foil
The Tritons were well represented in women's foil, with Kim, Piper Randolph and Alexis Chew earning the top three seeds respectively. Kim advanced to the final with a 15-5 win over Incarnate Word's Jenna Baly, and Chew won the all-Triton affair with Randolph 15-13. Kim then bested Chew in the final 15-4.
 
Women's Saber
Fearns was the top seed in women's saber and was joined in the competition by three seed Erenei Ligh. Both Tritons won their semifinals as Fearns topped Incarnate Word's Amelia Dungey 15-4 and Ligh bested Air Force's Mira Vestel 15-9. Fearns then took the final by a score of 15-7.
 
Men's Epee
Men's epee was the men's team's best weapon as Sunny Sharma was the one seed, Abzhanov was the two seed and Dayus Gohel was the four seed. Gohel beat Sharma in the semifinals 14-13 in a bout that went all the way to the end of the clock. Abzhanov joined Gohel in the final with a 15-6 win over Air Force's Byung Kim, with Abzhanov then winning the title by a score of 15-11.
 
Men's Foil
Another all-Triton semifinal awaited in men's foil, where three seed Levy beat two seed Adi Jain 15-6. Levy then faced top seed Jack Griffith of Air Force in the final, winning 15-11.
 
Men's Saber
Hananiah So was the lone Triton in men's saber, qualifying as the four seed. He lost his semifinal bout 15-12 to Incarnate Word's Yassin Khodir. The weapon was ultimately won by Air Force's Andrei Nazlymov.
 
Women's Team
The Triton women were the top seed after yesterday's regional action, earning them a bye to the final. Air Force advanced out of the semifinal round to face UC San Diego for the championship. The Tritons cruised in the final, doubling up Air Force 30-15 to win the title.
 
Men's Team
The Triton men started in the semifinal round, where they beat Incarnate Word 30-21. The second team title of the day then once again came down to UC San Diego vs Air Force, with Air Force the winner on the men's side after an intense, back-and-forth battle. The Falcons were victorious 30-24.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The Tritons tied 2023 Stanford for the most individual titles won by one school at an MPSF Championship.
• Fearns is the first fencer in MPSF history to win three individual titles.
• UC San Diego has now won three team and 11 individual titles in the five-year history of the MPSF. The Tritons have won at least one individual title every year.

QUOTABLE
"This weekend was a great test for our program, and I am very proud of how our scholar-athletes responded," head coach Juan Ignacio Calderon said. "The West Regional is always a demanding format where every bout and every touch matters. Our fencers showed resilience and composure throughout the day. We will have to wait until Tuesday to confirm who qualified for the NCAA Championships, but I am confident we will have several men and women on that list.
 
"At the MPSF Championships, I was very impressed with the energy and determination of those who reached the final fours in each event. We finished with four individual titles, one more than last year, which reflects the continued progress of the program. We have also now established a strong and healthy rivalry with Air Force, and that was evident in the team events where we exchanged victories."
 
UP NEXT
The National Collegiate Fencing Championships will be Mar. 19-22 on the campus of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Qualifiers will be announced by the NCAA this Tuesday, Mar. 10.
 
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.