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LA JOLLA, Calif. \u2014 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.
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\nThe 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.
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\nThe competition included junior and division IA events. UC San Diego’s scholar-athletes competed in division IA.
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\nHOW IT HAPPENED
\nWomen’s epee kicked off the competition on Saturday morning. Senior Natalie Brooke Gebala<\/a> 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.
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\nThe Tritons had four scholar-athletes compete in women’s saber on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Alexandra Medvinsky<\/a> had a strong first event with the Tritons to lead the group, finishing fifth.
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\nSaturday 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<\/a> and Lance Headrick<\/a> met in the first semifinal, with the junior besting the freshman as Kim won 15-10. Ziad Khayat ’22 then beat Sunny Sharma<\/a> ’26 in an all-alumni semifinal. Khayat also knocked off Kim in the final in a 15-12 finish.
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\nSunday morning kicked off with men’s foil, where the Tritons won two medals. Sophomore Adi Jain<\/a> was third, with freshman Cristiano Coelho<\/a> finishing seventh. Jain had to withdraw from his semifinal bout due to severe cramping.
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\nMen’s saber was also on Sunday morning. Junior Sam Zubatiy<\/a> 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.
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\nThe weekend concluded with women’s foil Sunday afternoon, where three of the four Tritons competing finished in the top 10. Alexis Chew<\/a> finished third to lead the squad, with Piper Randolph<\/a> also medaling to finish eighth.
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\nUC SAN DIEGO RESULTS
\nWomen’s Epee
\n5. Natalie Brooke Gebala<\/a>
\n13. Lily Nelson-Love<\/a>
\n18. Pia Huber<\/a>
\n34. Yasmine Daher<\/a>
\n45. Emily Naka<\/a>
\n57. Hania Hafeez<\/a>
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\nWomen’s Saber
\n5. Alexandra Medvinsky<\/a>
\n14. Addison Lomotan<\/a>
\n17. Erenei Ligh<\/a>
\n27. Maya Golovitser<\/a>
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\nMen’s Epee
\n2. Ben Kim<\/a>
\n3. Lance Headrick<\/a>
\n17. Dayus Gohel<\/a>
\n19. Nurzhan Abzhanov<\/a>
\n40. Boyan Yang<\/a>
\n47. Haoran Zheng<\/a>
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\nMen’s Foil
\n3. Adi Jain<\/a>
\n7. Cristiano Coelho<\/a>
\n10. Zander Vazquez<\/a>
\n23. Ahmed Turgut Anbarlilar<\/a>
\n30. Nathan Canlas<\/a>
\n44. Kristjan Dinsay<\/a>
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\nMen’s Saber
\n8. Sam Zubatiy<\/a>
\n11. Hananiah So<\/a>
\n17. Noah Lee<\/a>
\n23. Jeffrey Tao<\/a>
\n24. Arthur Bonifield<\/a>
\n35. Diego Barrios<\/a>
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\nWomen’s Foil
\n3. Alexis Chew<\/a>
\n8. Piper Randolph<\/a>
\n9. Bonnie Davis<\/a>
\n17. Neta Korol<\/a>
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\nUP NEXT
\nThe 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.
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\nAbout UC San Diego Athletics
\nAfter two decades as one of the most successful\u00a0programs in\u00a0NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as\u00a0a\u00a0member\u00a0of The Big West in\u00a0NCAA Division I. The 24-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in\u00a0Divisions\u00a0II\u00a0and III and helped guide\u00a01,400 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.\u00a0For more information on the Tritons, visit\u00a0UCSDtritons.com<\/a>\u00a0or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media\u00a0@UCSDtritons<\/a>.
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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