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Women’s Team Recap
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Men’s National Collegiate Fencing Championships brought more success for UC San Diego as both Tritons in the competition, Nurzhan Abzhanov and Sunny Sharma, finished as Honorable Mention All-Americans.
Both Tritons are epeeists. Sharma finished ninth to close out his final collegiate season on a high note. Abzhanov is just getting started on his college career, placing 12th as a freshman.
The pair joins Katherine Kim as All-American fencers for UC San Diego this season. Kim was also an Honorable Mention finisher when the women’s event wrapped on Friday. Three All-Americans in one season is tied for second-most in program history.
Notre Dame was the host of this year’s event. The women’s competition was on Thursday and Friday, with the men competing on Saturday and Sunday. This was the first year that the NCAA awarded separate team national championships for the women and men, with each individual fencer’s results earning points toward the team title. The Triton women were 16th and the Triton men were 17th.
HOW IT HAPPENED
There were 24 participants in each weapon. Fencers competed against each other in a round-robin format of five-touch bouts. The top four in each weapon then fenced in single-elimination semifinal and final 15-touch bouts to crown the national champions.
Sharma had a blistering start on Saturday, going 6-1 in round one and ending the day with a 9-6 record. He then moved up a couple of places in the standings with another strong performance on Sunday. Sharma was 5-3 on day two to finish the competition with a 14-9 record. The senior had 10 bouts decided by just one touch, with six of those being victories.
Sharma made his second-straight appearance at the National Collegiate Fencing Championships. He improved 12 spots from last year’s 21st-place finish.
Abzhanov also had a strong start on Saturday. His first bout of the today was with Sharma, which he lost, but he followed that by winning seven of his next nine bouts. The freshman finished day one with an 8-7 record. Abzhanov then did just enough on Sunday to move into the final All-America spot. He went 3-5 to close the competition with an 11-12 record.
QUOTABLE
“This NCAA Championship result is truly special for our program,” head coach Juan Ignacio Calderon said. “It marks only the fourth time in our history that we have multiple All-Americans, and for the first time ever, we achieved it with two athletes in the same category, men’s epee. That speaks volumes about the level we are reaching. I am incredibly proud of all four of our qualifiers. They fought with determination, supported each other every step of the way and brought an incredibly positive energy that proved to be the difference at the highest level of our sport. At a competition as demanding as the NCAA Championship, that unity and belief are what allow athletes not just to compete, but to perform.”
“It feels great to be among the best in the nation, and I really value the opportunity to fence with these guys,” Abzhanov said. “I was working towards this all season, and at times it seemed like a really distant goal. I had my ups and downs during the year, but ultimately I was able to find my fencing. I am proud of finishing my freshman year like this and representing UC San Diego at the national stage. I want to thank my family, friends, girlfriend, teammates and coaches for all their support this season.”
“It feels amazing to be an All-American,” Sharma said. “This result is a testament to how much work I have put in every year to go from not even competing at NCAA Regionals my freshman year to winning NCAA Regionals back-to-back and finishing as an All-American this year. I am beyond blessed that I have had the endless support from head coach Juan Ignacio and his staff, along with UC San Diego Athletics and my teammates. Brett, Jack, Jenny and Nick have been the trainers, academic counselors and administrators who have always had my back. I also want to extend my gratitude to my home club in Los Angeles, TeamK Fencing, who inspired me to be the person and fencer I am today, and to my family for being the reason I was able to start fencing and pursue it all my life.”
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.