LA JOLLA, Calif. – The Stanford men captured first at the Western Conference fencing championships and the Cardinal women were second in the season-opening competition on Saturday at the Main Gym.
Both the men's and women's titles came down to Stanford's dual against host UC San Diego. The Cardinal men won 14-13 to win finish 3-0 in the round-robin competition that also included Air Force and Incarnate Word.
The Cardinal women fell 16-11 to UCSD, finishing 2-1 on the day and behind the undefeated Tritons.
After opening with a 15-12 victory over Air Force, Stanford beat Incarnate Word, 23-4, setting up the showdown against UCSD, which also was 2-0.
Stanford won sabre, 5-4, and epee, 5-4, to give the Cardinal enough points to overcome a 5-4 deficit in foil. The Cardinal won the epee in all three matches.
The Stanford women beat Air Force, 16-11, and Incarnate Word, 20-4. Against UCSD, Stanford lost 16-11. Including only the foil and epee, Stanford and the Tritons were tied, 9-9. But it was UCSD's dominance in the sabre, winning 7-2, that made the difference in the match.
The Cardinal foil team won in all three matches.
Stanford competes next competes in the West Invitational, Sunday at UCSD's RIMAC Arena.
Stanford's takes on Northwestern at 9 a.m., has a rematch against UCSD at 10 a.m., competes against Florida at 11 a.m., takes on Incarnate Word at 1 p.m. and finishes against Air Force at 2 p.m.
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Saturday
Western Conference Championships
Men
Team standings – 1, Stanford 3-0; 2, UC San Diego 2-1; 3, Air Force 1-2; 4, Incarnate Word 0-4.
Stanford's scores
Stanford 15, Air Force 12
Stanford 23, Incarnate Word 4
Stanford 14, UC San Diego 13
Women
Team standings -- 1, UC San Diego 3-0; 2, Stanford 2-1; 3, Air Force 1-2; 4, Incarnate Word 0-4.
Stanford's scores
Stanford 16, Air Force 11
Stanford 20, Incarnate Word 4
UC San Diego 16, Stanford 11
