UCSD has had plenty of tough matches against Stanford and last weekend was no different, with both teams falling to the Cardinal on Jan. 12 and 13. (Will Parson/Guardian file)

FENCING — This year’s first serious road trip to the NCAA
West Invitational in Colorado Springs,
Colo. over the weekend gave the
Tritons a chance to face off against some of the nation’s top fencers while
competing in a new environment. The team split its total matches for the meet,
with both the men’s and women’s teams going 2-2. The meet, which pitted UCSD
against Stanford University,
the University of Florida, the University of Notre Dame and the host Air Force
Academy, was the Tritons’
first NCAA competition of the year after four preseason meets.

While their fellow students were basking in the warm San Diego sun, the Triton fencers flew to Colorado, where they
were met with snow flurries and the prospect of fencing at a very high
elevation.

The UCSD fencers faced opponents from Stanford Univeristy, the University of Florida, the Univeristy of Notre Dame and host Air Force Academy at the NCAA West Invitational in Colorado on Jan. 12 and 13. (Will Parson/Guardian)

The weather didn’t faze the Tritons, who were instead
surprised by the climate during the meet itself.

Emily Lipoma, a senior on the women’s foil squad, thought
the Colorado
conditions were much more manageable than previous trips to the NCAA West
Invitational.

“The climate and altitude actually took a lesser toll on the
team than the last time we competed at Air Force in 2006,” Lipoma
said. “The altitude effects were fairly negligible and the gym we fenced
in was actually much warmer than it should have been.”

The meet’s format saw only the women fencing on Jan. 12,
which gave the men’s team members a chance to rest up from the long plane ride
while cheering on their female teammates.

The women showed little respect to their hosts and beat the
Air Force team 18-9. The Triton women got their only other win versus Florida, dominating the
match to the tune of a 20-7 victory. Senior Chelsea Ambort paved the way for
her epee squad, posting a 9-3 mark on the day. However, UCSD lost to Notre Dame
21-6 and, in what would set the tone for a dramatic showdown on the men’s side,
lost to Stanford 15-12.

The men were unable to avenge the women’s Stanford loss,
dropping a heartbreaking 15-14 match to the rival Cardinal.

While they were unable to topple their Northern Californian
opponents, the Triton men were able to squeak out a very impressive 14-13 win
against Air Force, along with a 22-5 win over Florida. The foil squad led the Tritons in
their Sunday matches, with seniors John Chung and Cameron Sprowles and freshman
Benjamin Dorn all going 9-3 on the day.

Sophomore Sean Blum from epee was especially happy with
knocking off the very impressive host team of Air Force.

“The Air Force squad, their epee especially, was really
strong and had some of the top players in the nation,” Blum said. “So that made
it really tough for our guys — but all the better when we won our match against
them.”

Although the teams did not perform as well as they had in
their preseason meets, the chance to improve their play by competing against
more skilled competition was invaluable.

“Some of these fencers are not only the top fencers in the
NCAA but some of the top fencers in the nation,” Schnecker said. “For some
teammates, it was difficult to stand a chance against such more experienced
fencers, but in these cases, it was exciting even to get just one touch. For
some of the more experienced fencers on the team, it was exciting because they
actually did well against these amazing athletes.”

The Tritons showed their true grit and determination by not
being intimidated by the Division I status of their opponents, but instead
striving to prove so that they could fence with any team in the nation
regardless of division.

“The team was fairly disappointed with our overall results,
especially against Stanford,” Lipoma said. “Although we had some good
individual and squad victories, we would have liked to have done much
better. In the past few seasons we’ve built up a rivalry with Stanford,
and we’re looking forward to coming up against them again.”

Next up for UCSD will be the North America Cup held in Atlanta, Ga.
from Jan. 18-21.