LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego fencing will be in action for the first time this year with the 39th edition of the program's annual BladeRunner tournament, presented by University Credit Union. The competition will be this Saturday and Sunday at LionTree Arena.
 
Admission is free, but parking permits are required seven days a week on the UC San Diego campus.
 
Fencers will first compete in pool play, followed by a single-elimination bracket. UC San Diego fencers will be in Division IA events. Junior division events will also be run throughout the weekend.
 
THE UC SAN DIEGO SCHEDULE
Saturday, Sept. 19
Women's Epee – 8:00 a.m.
Men's Epee – 2:00 p.m.
Women's Saber – 3:00 p.m.
 
Sunday, Sept. 20
Men's Foil – 8:00 a.m.
Men's Saber – 9:00 a.m.
Women's Foil – 2:00 p.m.
 
THIS TIME LAST YEAR
Two Tritons won their events at last year's BladeRunner. Zara Fearns captured the women's saber crown, followed by Pia Huber winning the women's epee title.
 
Fearns completed her college career and graduated this summer with a degree in clinical psychology. Huber returns to the Tritons for her junior season.
 
A NEW LOOK COACHING STAFF
Juan Ignacio Calderon is in his 10th season at UC San Diego and ninth as head coach. In addition to his duties as head coach, Calderon works with the epee squad.
 
This season marks the first time that Calderon will be assisted by two full-time assistant coaches. Konstantin Lokhanov is the assistant saber coach. He was a part-time assistant last season. The assistant foil coach is Ania Tibbetts, who joins the Tritons ahead of this season. Dave Burgess returns for his 25th season as armorer.
 
MEET THE TEAM
There are 38 scholar-athletes on the team, 19 on both the men's and women's teams. The Triton women have 17 returners and two incoming freshmen. The Triton men have 10 returners and nine incoming freshmen.
 
HOME-HEAVY SCHEDULE
Four of UC San Diego's seven remaining events this season will be on campus in La Jolla. The Tritons' first event with other collegiate teams will be the West Invitational Nov. 7-8. That competition will take place at UC San Diego's Main Gym and Rec Gym.
 
The Triton women will then welcome Wellesley to Main Gym on Jan. 13. That event precedes two road trips as the full team travels to the Penn Invitational Jan. 16-17 and Northwestern's Schiller Duals Jan. 30-31.
 
The Tritons then begin postseason action at home. The NCAA West Regional Championships are Mar. 13, followed by the MPSF Championship on Mar. 14. Both events will be at LionTree Arena.
 
This year's NCAA Championships will be Mar. 25-28 for qualifying fencers. Duke will be the host university.
 
THE WEAPONS
• Epee
Epee is the heaviest of the weapons. The target to score points is the entire body. It is the only weapon where points can be awarded to both sides if there is a double touch.
• Foil
Foil is the lightest of the three weapons and enacts a rule called right-of-way. Whoever is coming forward with the attack gets the point unless their opponent takes the right-of-way from them by parrying (deflecting/blocking) their blade. The target area for scoring points is the chest and the torso, marked by a light metallic vest called a lamé. 
• Sabre
Sabre also employs the right-of-way rule, but sabreurs and sabreuses slash instead of stab. Sabre touches happen so quickly that the referees won't even start the three-minute clock used to time the bout.

FENCING GLOSSARY
• Advance: Take a step towards one's opponent.
• Attack: Movement or series of movements by which a fencer tries to score a point. In foil and saber, the fencer who attacks first acquires the "right-of-way." In order to execute an attack properly (i.e. one that the referee will acknowledge), the fencer's hand must be clearly extending towards their opponent's valid target in a threatening manner.
• Beat: Sharp tap on the opponent's blade to initiate an attack or provoke a reaction.
• En Garde: Position taken before fencing commences.
• Feint: A false attack intended to get a defensive reaction from the opposing fencer, thus creating the opportunity for a genuine attack ("feint-disengage attack").
• Fleche: Explosive, running attack (foil and epee only).
• Flunge: Action unique to sabre – a combination of a lunge and a fleche. Evolved recently after the FIE modified sabre rules in 1992 to prohibit running attacks.
• Lunge: Most common attacking technique, in which the fencer launches themselves at their opponent by pushing off from the back leg (which generally remains stationary).
• Parry: Defensive action in which a fencer blocks their opponent's blade.
• Point-in-Line: Action in which the fencer, who is generally out of attacking range, points their weapon at their opponent with their arm fully extended. A fencer who establishes a point in line has right-of-way, and their opponent cannot attack until they remove the blade from line by executing a beat.
• Recover: The return to the en guarde position after lunging.
• Riposte: Defender's offensive action immediately after parrying their opponent's attack.
• Second Intention: A tactic in which a fencer executes a convincing, yet false, action in hopes of drawing a true, committed reaction from their opponent.
• Stop Hit, Stop Cut (sabre only): A counter-action made at the moment of an opponent's hesitation, feint, or poorly executed attack. To be awarded the point, the fencer attempting to stop hit must clearly catch their opponent's tempo. Hence, if their Stop Hit is not "in time," the referee may award the touch to their attacker.
• Strip: Fencing area, 14 meters long by 2 meters wide.
• Touch: Score a point.
 
BE SOCIAL
The UC San Diego Fencing Team can be found on Facebook, Instagram and X. The team's handle is @ucsdfencing.
 
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.