SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word men's and women's fencing teams are moving to a new conference, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, announced MPSF Executive Director Foti Mellis on Monday.
 
The Cardinals will continue their rivalry with traditional conference opponents Stanford, UC San Diego and Air Force. Each of these four programs enters the MPSF after an historical year in the Western Fencing Conference (WFC), when all four advanced to the NCAA Championships and enjoyed record-breaking seasons.
 
While the WCF was an amalgamation of fencing teams, UIW's new conference will be composed of 64 teams representing 33 institutions in 11 sports. The MPSF first competed as a conference in 1992-93.
 
The UIW men and women's teams enjoyed their best finish ever last spring, when their six qualifiers scored 39 points to achieve a combined 14th place in the 2021 NCAA Fencing Championships in State College, Pa.
 
According to UIW head fencing coach John Moreau, the new conference will strive to schedule its championship meet each year to coincide with an NCAA regional, which will "give more student-athletes a chance to compete" in a championship setting.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook. 
 
You can also follow the fencing team on Twitter @UIWfencing and Instagram @uiwfencing.