Muhari And Skarbonkiewicz Perfect After Opening Rounds At NCAAs

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The women took center stage at the NCAA Championships on Saturday after the opening two days of men’s competition on Thursday and Friday. The Notre Dame women posted some exemplary performances through the first three rounds of the round-robin format.

As a team, the Irish enter Sunday’s final rounds in first place with 149 points, leading Columbia/Barnard (139), Princeton (118), Harvard (112) and St. John’s (92).

Impressively, not one but two Notre Dame fencers turned in perfect days, as Eszter Muhari went 15-0 in epee and Magda Skarbonkiewicz finished 15-0 in sabre. Both are in prime position to advance to the knockout stages on Sunday.

WOMEN’S EPEE

Eszter Muhari put on a fencing clinic in day one of action in epee, going unbeaten with a perfect record of 15-0. Muhari, the 2023 NCAA individual national title winner, is in a great position to qualify for Sunday’s semifinal knockout rounds. Teammate Kaylin Hsieh had a productive day as well, going 9-6 to currently sit in sixth place, just two spots away from qualifying for the semifinals. 

WOMEN’S SABRE

Making her NCAA Championship debut as a freshman, Magda Skarbonkiewicz wasted no time putting the rest of the field on notice in sabre. Skarbonkiewicz won all 15 of her bouts to start a perfect 15-0 in pool action. After getting off to a slow start, teammate Siobhan Sullivan picked it up in her final two rounds of the day, surging from 15th to 7th, going 7-1 over rounds two and three to take a 10-5 record into Sunday.

WOMEN’S FOIL

The Irish tandem of Ariadna Tucker and Rebeca Candescu combined for 13 wins over the first three rounds. Tucker enters the final day in 14th place with a record of 7-8 while Candescu is in 17th with a mark of 6-9.

STANDINGS

Epee
1. Eszter Muhari, 15-0 (+44)
6. Kaylin Hsieh, 9-6 (+17)

Sabre
1. Magda Skarbonkiewicz, 15-0 (+49)
7. Siobhan Sullivan, 10-5 (+15)

Foil
14. Ariadna Tucker, 7-8 (+1)
17. Rebeca Candescu, 6-9 (-3)

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Notre Dame (149)
2. Columbia/Barnard (139)
3. Princeton (118)
4. Harvard (112)
5. St. John’s (92)

UP NEXT

The women will return to the strips for the final two rounds of the round-robin action on Sunday morning. After the two rounds are completed, the top-four finishers will advance to the semifinals starting at 1:30 p.m. ET in the afternoon to wrap up the fourth and final day of the championships. The semifinals and finals will be broadcast on ESPN+.