LA JOLLA, Calif. - UC San Diego is set to host the 2013 NCAA Fencing West Regional on Saturday, March 9 at Main Gym on campus.

Joining UCSD on the strips will be Air Force and Stanford. For the men, Stanford is ranked 10th nationally, while Air Force and UCSD are receiving votes in the CollegeFencing360.com poll. For the women, all three squads are receiving votes. 

"We are very excited to host this event and showcase the best collegiate fencers in West," said UCSD head coach Heidi Runyan. "It is going to be a very competitive event."

UCSD is coming off its ninth-consecutive Intercollegiate Fencing Conference of Southern California (IFCSC) championship. The Tritons topped the field in all three weapons on both the men's and women's sides at UC Irvine on Feb. 23. Also competing were squads from Arizona State, Caltech, UC Santa Barbara, Claremont, UC Irvine, UCLA and USC.

At the IFCSC Individual Championships on Feb. 10, the Tritons swept all events against Arizona State, Caltech, UC Irvine, UCLA and USC. Eduard Zilinskiy (epee), Keric Moore (foil) and Travis Tibbitts (sabre) were winners for the men. Andrea Gory (epee), Nicole Chiang (foil) and Munira Gesner (sabre) were victorious for the UCSD women.

Stanford is led by Turner Caldwell and Alexander Massialis. Caldwell placed second in men's foil at last season's NCAA Championship. Massialis, also a foilist, competed for Team USA at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Top competitors for Air Force include Alexander Chiang in men's foil, Madeleine Girardot and Mary McElwee in women's foil and James Salem in men's epee.

"Stanford and Air Force have several outstanding fencers, with Stanford fielding a recent Olympian," said Runyan. "This is also one of the best teams UCSD has fielded. We have been training hard and are determined to give our best."

Competing for the UCSD women will be Natalie Chan (epee), Gory (epee), Laura Hawkins (epee), Chiang (foil), Amrit Khalsa (foil), Alina Marshall (foil), Victoria Parra (foil), Karinne Caisse (sabre), Munira Gesner (sabre), Megan Gesner (sabre) and Alexandra Stanley (sabre). 

Triton men slated to compete include Adam Campbell-Kruger (epee), Luc Ginestet (epee), Alex Mann (epee), Zilinskiy (epee), Jeffrey Chan (foil), Alex Lavin (foil), Moore (foil), Joseph Schenkel (foil), Bryson Abilay (sabre), Drew Dickinson (sabre), Peter Meckling (sabre) and Tibbitts (sabre).

Typically, the top-two finishers in each weapon at the Regional earn a berth in the NCAA Championship, which will be held March 21-24 at Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas. The qualifiers will officially be announced early next week. 

Stanford hosted the 2012 West Regional at The Fencing Center at Arrillaga Center for Sports and Recreation, with Air Force, Caltech and UCSD also on hand. Five Tritons earned medals for placing in the top three, including Munira Gesner (2nd, women's sabre), Stanley (3rd, women's sabre), Rose Forcier (2nd, women's foil), Casey Gillcrist (3rd, women's epee) and Michael Fong (3rd, men's foil).

The Cardinal won gold in five of six events. Air Force was victorious in men's epee.

By virtue of their second-place finishes, Forcier and Gesner advanced to the NCAA National Championship in Columbus, Ohio.

Action gets underway at 10 a.m. Saturday with men's epee and women's foil. Admission to the Regional is free. For a campus map, click here.

NCAA Fencing West Regional
March 9, 2013
Main Gym
La Jolla, Calif.

Schedule of Events
Men's Epee - 10 a.m.
Women's Foil - 10 a.m.
Men's Sabre - 10:30 a.m.
Women's Epee - 1:30 p.m.
Men's Foil - 1:30 p.m.
Women's Sabre - 1:45 p.m.

all times Pacific

-- UCSDtritons.com --