LA JOLLA, Calif. — The first weekend of the 2026-27 UC San Diego fencing season came to a close on Sunday night with the Tritons earning nine medals at their BladeRunner tournament.
 
The Tritons hosted the 39th edition of their annual tournament at LionTree Arena on Saturday and Sunday. Medals were awarded to the top eight finishers in each weapon.
 
The competition included junior and division IA events. UC San Diego's scholar-athletes competed in division IA.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Women's epee kicked off the competition on Saturday morning. Senior Natalie Brooke Gebala medaled in that event after a fifth-place finish. Gebala narrowly missed out on a trip to the semifinals as she fell 14-13 in the quarterfinal round.
 
The Tritons had four scholar-athletes compete in women's saber on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Alexandra Medvinsky had a strong first event with the Tritons to lead the group, finishing fifth.
 
Saturday afternoon featured men's epee as well, with the marathon event concluding over six hours after it started. All four semifinalists had Triton connections. Current scholar-athletes Ben Kim and Lance Headrick met in the first semifinal, with the junior besting the freshman as Kim won 15-10. Ziad Khayat '22 then beat Sunny Sharma '26 in an all-alumni semifinal. Khayat also knocked off Kim in the final in a 15-12 finish.
 
Sunday morning kicked off with men's foil, where the Tritons won two medals. Sophomore Adi Jain was third, with freshman Cristiano Coelho finishing seventh. Jain had to withdraw from his semifinal bout due to severe cramping.
 
Men's saber was also on Sunday morning. Junior Sam Zubatiy was the lone medalist for the Tritons after winning an intense table of 16 match 15-13. He finished eighth after losing his quarterfinal bout.
 
The weekend concluded with women's foil Sunday afternoon, where three of the four Tritons competing finished in the top 10. Alexis Chew finished third to lead the squad, with Piper Randolph also medaling to finish eighth.
 
UC SAN DIEGO RESULTS
Women's Epee
5. Natalie Brooke Gebala
13. Lily Nelson-Love
18. Pia Huber
34. Yasmine Daher
45. Emily Naka
57. Hania Hafeez
 
Women's Saber
5. Alexandra Medvinsky
14. Addison Lomotan
17. Erenei Ligh
27. Maya Golovitser
 
Men's Epee
2. Ben Kim
3. Lance Headrick
17. Dayus Gohel
19. Nurzhan Abzhanov
40. Boyan Yang
47. Haoran Zheng
 
Men's Foil
3. Adi Jain
7. Cristiano Coelho
10. Zander Vazquez
23. Ahmed Turgut Anbarlilar
30. Nathan Canlas
44. Kristjan Dinsay
 
Men's Saber
8. Sam Zubatiy
11. Hananiah So
17. Noah Lee
23. Jeffrey Tao
24. Arthur Bonifield
35. Diego Barrios
 
Women's Foil
3. Alexis Chew
8. Piper Randolph
9. Bonnie Davis
17. Neta Korol
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons' first event with other collegiate programs will be the West Invitational Nov. 7-8. That competition will also be on the UC San Diego campus, with bouts taking place inside Main Gym and the adjacent Rec Gym.
 
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.