LA JOLLA - Its schedule is loaded with Division I opponents, including UCLA, USC, Stanford and Notre Dame.

Its coach has represented her country in international competition. Its roster is made up almost entirely of Californians.

Yet despite the toughest schedule on campus, a nationally renowned coach and plenty of homegrown talent, the UC San Diego fencing team is probably the school's most obscure athletic program.

When sophomore Amy Bianchini tells people that she's a member of the Tritons' fencing team, she usually gets one of two responses.

"Most people usually ask me, 'So do you stab people with swords?' " the Mt. Carmel High graduate said. "Or they'll ask me, 'Have you ever killed someone?' "

While deaths are rare, fencing does require "stabbing" an opponent with one of three weapons.

A foil is a 35-inch sword with a flexible, rectangular blade. Points are scored with the tip of the blade and must land within the torso (shoulders to groin, front and back).

An epee (pronounced EH-pay) is about the same length as a foil, but is heavier. Points are again scored with the tip of the blade, but the entire body is in play.

Finally there's the sabre, which is similar in length and weight to the foil. The target area is from the bend of the hips (front and back) to the top of the head.

A fencer's uniform consists of a lame, which is like a padded jacket, and a helmet. Points are recorded electronically, and matches are won by scoring five points before the opponent.

But even with all that protection, fencers are not immune from pain.

"You get some really strange bruises," Bianchini said.

Given the obscurity and bodily harm, why would anyone want to take up fencing? It's certainly not for the money.

According to sophomore Anne Schnecker, another Mt. Carmel grad, fencers are offered just a $500 scholarship.

So what's the allure?

"It keeps us in shape and provides a social network," Schnecker said. "We're all friends and we all hang out together."

For others, it's the novelty of the sport. Senior captain Zitin Kachru was drawn to fencing because it seemed to fit who she was. She played basketball growing up, swam for 11 years, but fencing was love at "en garde."

"I like fencing because it's a lot more fun," said Kachru, who grew up in Los Altos Hills. "It's unique; it a lot more 'me' than other sports."

Part of fencing's appeal is the level playing field.

"Nobody is at an advantage," Kachru said. "In fencing, you reap what you sow. Nobody has a natural gift for fencing. It takes eight to 10 years of intense competition to make a good fencer."

Coach Heidi Runyan hopes that nationally ranked competition can cut that timetable in half.

Runyan is in her fifth season as the Tritons' head coach after serving two years as an assistant. She has been associated with fencing for 26 years. She fenced in college at Cal State Los Angeles - where she met her husband and future assistant coach, Josh - and she also represented the United States in the 2007 World Veterans' Fencing Championships.

Now she's hoping her expertise can help the team as it prepares to face regional powerhouses Stanford and Air Force.

"We have some good fencers and we train hard as a team," Runyan said in an e-mail. "The UCSD athletic department has also been very supportive, giving us the resources we need to succeed."

The Tritons were in South Bend, Ind., over the weekend for the Notre Dame Duals. The men's team lost a close match to top-ranked Notre Dame but beat Northwestern, Lawrence and Detroit. The women lost to Notre Dame, Northwestern and regional foe Stanford, but beat Air Force.

They'll face Stanford and Air Force again on March 7 in the NCAA West Regional in Palo Alto. The top two women in each weapon, the top two men in sabre and the top three men in foil and epee will advance to the NCAA national championships at Penn State on March 19-22.