SOUTH BEND, Ind. – For the 10th straight year, the University of Notre Dame fencing program will send the maximum allotted 12 fencers to the NCAA Championships this weekend. The Irish will compete for the title March 21-24 at French Field House on the Ohio State campus in Columbus, Ohio.
The Irish squad will have a mix of youth and experience competing at the championships. Seven of the selections will be making a repeat appearance at NCAAs this season, while five people have been selected for the first time.
In women’s sabre, Atara Greenbaum is making her fourth NCAA Championships appearance while Jadeyn Williams is making her debut. Women’s foil will be represented by second-time participant Rebeca Candescu and Josephina Conway in her first appearance and fresh off her MVP appearance at the ACC Championships. Amanda Pirkowski is making her second NCAA appearance while teammate Michaela Joyce will be making her NCAA debut.
On the men’s side, Luke Linder, two-time individual NCAA champion will be making his fourth straight NCAA Championships appearance and Alexandre Lacaze will represent the Irish in sabre for the first time. In foil, Marcello Olivares will represent the Irish for the fourth time at the event, while James Chen will be making his championships debut. Rounding out the men’s entries in epee are Valentin Matveev for his second selection and Jonathan Hamilton-Meikle will be representing Notre Dame for the second straight year.
The National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Fencing Championships include individual events in each of the six weapons, and fencers will compete in a round-robin format of five-touch bouts. After the round-robin, the top-four finishers in each weapon will fence in semifinal 15-touch bouts, with the winners fencing to determine first and second places, and the non-advancing fencers being awarded a tie for third place.
Place finish in the championships will be based on points earned by each individual. A team will be awarded one point for each victory by its student-athletes during the round-robin portion of the Championships.
2024 Selections…
Rebeca Candescu – Women’s Foil
James Chen – Men’s Foil
Thursday, March 21
8:45 a.m. – National Anthem
9 a.m. – Women’s Epee, rounds 1-3
11 a.m. – Women’s Foil, rounds 1-3
1:30 p.m. – Women’s Sabre, rounds 1-3
Friday, March 22
8:45 a.m. – National Anthem
9 a.m. – Women’s Epee, rounds 4-5
9 a.m. – Women’s Foil, rounds 4-5
9 a.m. – Women’s Sabre, rounds 4-5
1 p.m. – Women’s Championship Bouts (in the order of épée, foil and sabre) The six semifinal bouts and the three first-place bouts will be fenced on one strip. The women’s individual awards presentation will take place immediately after the finals.
Saturday, March 23
8:45 a.m. – National Anthem
9 a.m. – Men’s Epee, rounds 1-3
11 a.m. – Men’s Foil, rounds 1-3
1 p.m. – Men’s Sabre, rounds 1-3
Sunday, March 24
8:45 a.m. – National Anthem
9 a.m. – Men’s Epee, rounds 4-5
9 a.m. – Men’s Foil, rounds 4-5
9 a.m. – Men’s Sabre, rounds 4-5
1 p.m. – Men’s Championship Bouts (in the order of épée, foil and sabre) The six semifinal bouts and the three first-place bouts will be fenced on one strip. The men’s individual awards and team awards presentation will take place immediately after the finals.