SOUTH BEND, Ind. – National Champions. Yet again.
The Notre Dame women’s fencing team claimed the 2026 NCAA Women’s Fencing Championship Friday on the home strips inside the Joyce Center, winning their first women’s team championship as the event shifted to separate men’s and women’s championships this season. It’s the 15th national championship for Irish fencing after winning 14 co-ed national titles, including six of the last eight under head coach Gia Kvaratskhelia (2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025). On top of that, Eszter Muhari claimed the individual title in epee, making it 65 team and individual national championships in program history.
The Irish entered the second day just one point behind Columbia in the team standings. The Irish sabre duo of Siobhan Sullivan and Magda Skarbonkiewicz quickly erased any deficit in the fourth round, each going 5-0 and earning two victories over the Columbia fencers in the weapon class.
Notre Dame’s foilists did well in the fourth round as well with Ariadna Tucker Alarcon and Josephina Conway each won three bouts and the early-day domination continued in epée where Kyle Fallon and Eszter Muhari won seven of eight competitions.
Columbia held strong, however, but the Irish were stronger.
Muhari dispatched her foe from Columbia with a dominating 5-0 score in less than a minute to lead Notre Dame fencing to its first women’s title since the NCAA combined the men’s and women’s title in 1989.
Notre Dame scored 102 points to claim the team crown over second-place Columbia/Barnard (99).
Muhari won her third career individual national title in epee, including her second straight (2023, 2025). She rolled in the championship bout, downing Princeton’s Hadley Husisian, 13-1.
2026 NCAA Women’s Fencing Championships
Final Standings
- Notre Dame, 102
- Columbia/Barnard, 99
- Princeton, 71
- Harvard, 69
- Penn, 54
- Northwestern, 54
- Ohio State, 43
- Stanford, 42
- Yale, 42
- Cornell, 42
All six Irish fencers claimed All-American honors for finishing in the top eight. The top-four claimed first-team All-American:
Epee
- Eszter Muhari, Notre Dame
- Kyle Fallon, Notre Dame
Foil
- Josephina Conway, Notre Dame
- Ariadna Tucker, Notre Dame
Sabre
- Magda Skarbonkiewicz, Notre Dame
T3. Siobhan Sullivan, Notre Dame
The men take to the strips tomorrow with rounds 1-3 for all weapons starting at 9:00 a.m. with epee. For more information, click here.