Not content to stay around Southern California and dominate the local competition, the UCSD fencing squad spent the last two weekends traveling east to Illinois and Kansas to test their “metal” against some of the best competition in the nation.
On Jan. 22 and Jan. 23, the Tritons, who are currently the top squad in the Intercollegiate Fencing Conference of Southern California, flew to Evanston, Ill., for the Northwestern Duals to compete against the likes of Northwestern University, Temple University, Michigan State University, Johns Hopkins University and a handful of other schools. Despite the freezing conditions and heavy snowstorms, sleep deprivation and the disadvantage of the time change, the Tritons fenced fiercely. The men went undefeated in their nine head-to-head matchups, led by freshman foil Cameron Sprowles, who had a very impressive 26-1 record for the two-day tournament.
On the women’s side, the hosts, much like the weather, were unrelentingly harsh and absolutely demolished the competition. Northwestern’s women’s squad, currently ranked sixth in the nation, swept the field and improved its season record to 19-0. Their head-to-head score against the Tritons was a resounding 24-3, and they didn’t lose more than six games to any other team. Against the rest of the field, the Tritons represented themselves adequately, going 6-4 overall, led by freshman epeeist Chelsea Ambort’s 22-3 record.
Perhaps the most exciting head-to-head matchup for UCSD came against Wayne State University. After the women’s team was narrowly defeated by Wayne State, 13-14, the men’s squad returned the favor, squeaking by in a 14-13 victory.
“The great thing about this team is how they all pulled together in a demanding weekend of fencing and travel,” head coach Heidi Runyan said. “There were 10 women and 10 men who fenced for the Tritons, and every one of them contributed victories to the overall team’s performance.”
From Jan. 14 to Jan. 17, UCSD sent a contingent of its strongest fencers, including Ambort, Sprowles, junior sabre Bret Martin, freshman sabre Jason Runyan, freshman foil Laurel Yianilos and team captain and senior epee Timothy Tibbs, to Overland Park, Kan., to participate in the North American Cup, which was sponsored by the United States Fencing Association. They competed against the best fencers from all across the United States, Canada and some even from Europe in two categories: Division I (where fencers of all ages compete against one another) and Juniors (age 19 and under).
In the Juniors competition, Sprowles made a very strong showing, placing 38th in a field of 139 in foil. Runyan finished 19th in a field of 93 in sabre. On the women’s side, Ambort placed 31st out of 85 in epee, and Yianilos placed 90th out of 100 in foil.
In Division I competition, Tibbs finished 99th out of 183 in epee, Sprowles (who, along with Ambort, entered in both competitions) finished 43rd out of 170 in foil, and Runyan and Martin placed 93rd and 100th, respectively, out of 111 in sabre. Ambort finished 21st against 98 other women in epee.
Notable performances include Sprowles’ 5-3 victory over Olympian Dan Kellner and Runyan’s upset of All-American Jason Paul of Ohio State. Paul went on to win the tournament, finishing first in the Junior Men’s Sabre competition. His only loss of the entire tournament came against Runyan.
Based on the NAC results and their finish in the top 32, Ambort and Runyan have been awarded USFA points, which go toward determining fencers’ national rankings.
“Fencing at these national tournaments really helps me gain experience, so I’m less nervous about other tournaments,” Runyan said. “Attending NAC helped prepare me for Northwestern the next week. Going to big tournaments help prepare you for even bigger tournaments.”
On Feb. 5 the Tritons will stay home to fence as they host the annual San Diego Invitational, which will be held at Main Gym. The home squad will not only be able to cross blades with familiar rivals Stanford, Cal Tech and Air Force, but it will also get a second shot at beating Northwestern.
