COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Competing for the first time in 2012, the UC San Diego fencing team recorded a pair of top-four finishes at the NCAA West Invitational, which was hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy on Saturday. 

Led by the exploits of Lexy Stanley and Munira Gesner, the Triton women finished third overall, while Joseph Schenkel and Luc Ginestet carried UCSD to a fourth place finish in the men's competition.

Stanley finished with an overall record of 13-4 in women's sabre, while Gesner also had a strong performance in the weapon, posting a mark of 12-4. Amrit Khalsa was the Tritons' top foilist on the day, going 10-5, while Casey Gillcrist recorded a tally of 9-5 in women's epee.

The Triton women finished third overall behind Division I foes Northwestern and Stanford, with awards going to the top three squads in each competition. UCSD finished with winning records against Cal Tech (26-1), Air Force (16-11), the University of Florida (14-13) and Swarthmore College (24-3).

Schenkel had a big day for the Tritons on the men's side, posting an impressive mark of 12-3 in foil, while Ginestet went 12-6 in epee. Other notable performers included Adam Campbell-Kruger, who finished with a 12-6 tally in epee and Bryson Abilay and Nick Bartuzik, who posted respective records of 10-8 and 9-6 in sabre.

The fencers from the University of Notre Dame claimed the first place trophy in the men's competition, with host Air Force finishing second, Stanford placing third and UCSD coming in fourth. The Tritons defeated Cal Tech (25-2), Florida (20-7) and Swarthmore (23-4).

UCSD will be back in action this weekend at the Division I/Junior NAC competition, which runs from January 13-16, in Portland, Ore.