Although it is cliche to talk of a team working together like a family, in the case of the UCSD fencing team, it is an apt comparison.
After sweeping a gold medal in every event at the Open Team Tournament on Jan. 14, the Tritons’ confidence is high before they face two of the strongest teams in the country, Notre Dame and Ohio State University, in the Notre Dame Invitational on Jan. 21-22.
The team is managed by husband and wife Josh and Heidi Runyan. The couple coaching duo also has a little help from their children, senior team captain Jeremy and junior Jason Runyan.
But with all the talented genes that make up the Triton fencing team, the Tritons still need help before one of their biggest tournaments of the season.
Head coach Heidi Runyan and assistant coach Josh Runyan are turning up the heat on the men’s and women’s fencing teams in preparation for this weekend’s bouts against several nationally regarded fencers in the prestigious Notre Dame Invitational, Jan. 20-21.
‘We’re working harder on conditioning because the meet coming up will be a 10-hour competition,’ Josh Runyan said. ‘We will fence two of the strongest teams in the country, which are Notre Dame and Ohio State, and will also face Stanford and Northwestern.’
Boasting the toughest competition the Tritons will face to date, the Notre Dame Invitational attracts several of the premier squads in the nation.
‘Up until now, we’ve won our tournaments,’ Jeremy Runyan said. ‘This next competition will test us on how we rate across the nation.’
Thus far, the UCSD fencing teams have dominated their early bouts by parrying and thrusting their way past the competition.
Recently, the teams competed in the United States Fencing Association Open Team tournament in San Diego in a direct elimination format, where the first competitor to score 15 points wins an individual bout.
There are three weapons used in fencing competitions: foil, epee and saber. Each weapon has its own set of characteristics and rules that breeds varying tempos and styles in a fencing bout.
While the foil is light and flexible, allowing the fencer to attack a valid target from multiple angles, the epee is heavier and the rules favor patience, making epee bouts more tactical and defensive.
Unlike the foil or epee, the saber can score with both its edge and point, permitting competitors to aggressively hack and slash at one another. For saberists, aggression is key. These bouts can end in the flash of an eye.
Fencing pits competitors against one another in a contest of wills that emphasizes gauging an opponent’s actions through feints, defensive action and a series of strategized attacks.
The USFA Open Team tournament, on Jan. 14, featured local teams, like Team Touché and nationally ranked UCSD alum Tedd Tagitt, as well as university programs, such as the tough University of Southern California team.
In the tournament, the men’s saber team finished first in a field of six teams, highlighted by the performance of junior Jason Runyan, who swept his bouts.
Saberist Jeremy Runyan, who had his season cut short last year after being deployed to Africa by the Marine Corps Reserves last September, has fought through an injury for most of the season.
‘I’m right-handed, but I blew out my shoulder, so I’ve been fencing most of the season as a left-hander,’ Jeremy Runyan said. ‘I’m not as good with my left as with my right.’
Both Jason and Jeremy Runyan are former participants in the NCAA nationals.
Despite early season struggles dating back to the team’s first October matches, the women’s saber team came in first in a dual competition.
Assistant coach Josh Runyan said that the women’s saber team has ‘been making a lot of progress, but they’re our most inexperienced.’
Men’s foil also took first out of 10 teams with standout performances from juniors Cameron Sprowles and John Chung, both former NCAA nationals participants.
Meanwhile, women’s foil placed first out of seven teams.
‘We had a particularly strong performance from junior Emily Lipoma, our women’s squad foil captain,’ Jeremy Runyan said.
Men’s epee finished first on the day, out of a total of three men’s epee squads.
Led by junior Chelsea Ambort, the women’s epee squad finished second out of two squads. A former NCAA All-American, Ambort is considered the team’s strongest fencer, according to Josh Runyan.
This week’s tournament at the University of Notre Dame is expected to provide a barometer for the team’s potential at the national level.
‘We have our biggest competition coming up at Notre Dame,’ Jeremy Runyan said. ‘I think we can compete with them at the same level. And I expect that we will earn our victories. This will be a great opportunity for us.’
