UC San Diego sophomore Katherine Kim earned All-America honors for the second consecutive year after finishing 11th at the Women’s National Collegiate Fencing Championships, according to a March 20 announcement. Fellow Triton foilist Piper Randolph finished in 22nd place.
Kim’s performance resulted in her being named an Honorable Mention All-American. Last year, she was recognized as a Second Team All-American after placing seventh as a freshman. Kim is now only the second female fencer from UC San Diego to receive multiple All-America awards and the first since Janet Wertz in 1997.
The event was hosted by Notre Dame, with women’s competition held on Thursday and Friday. This year marked the first time that separate team national championships were awarded for women and men, with individual results contributing points toward each team’s title. The UC San Diego Tritons placed 16th overall.
In the competition format, each weapon featured 24 participants who fenced in a round-robin of five-touch bouts. The top four competitors advanced to single-elimination semifinal and final bouts to determine national champions. Kim ended with a record of 12-11, including several close matches decided by one point. Randolph finished with a record of 6-17, highlighted by victories over three eventual All-Americans.
“Being an All-American again is an amazing feeling and a testament to all the hard work accumulated since last year,” Kim said. “It is always an honor to compete among the best in the country, and I am so proud to represent the Tritons on the highest collegiate stage again.
I want to thank my family for their tremendous support, along with Sergei Golubitsky, my personal coach from home. And I also want to extend a huge thank you to all of UC San Diego Athletics, including the entire fencing team, my coaches, our athletic trainers and my fabulous women’s foil squad for their constant support and amazing work ethic this season.”
Looking ahead, two Tritons will compete in the men’s events this weekend: senior Sunny Sharma returns for his second appearance at nationals alongside freshman Nurzhan Abzhanov.
