The Notre Dame fencing program returns home to South Bend as it hosts the Michael Decicco Duals this weekend. Fresh off 4-1 victories for both men and women at the St. John’s Super Cup, the Irish seek to continue along their path as they hunt for its 15th national championship.
Notre Dame will begin the meet at 9 a.m. on Saturday against Northwestern. Later that day, they’ll square off against Florida, Detroit Mercy, Cleveland State and Lawrence.
On Sunday, Notre Dame will face Michigan, Case Western Reserve, Purdue, Michigan State, Wisconsin and University of Chicago.
If all goes to plan, it should be a relatively straightforward weekend of competition for Notre Dame. The Irish men are ranked first in the country, while the women sit at second – just a notch behind Columbia. Of Notre Dame’s weekend competition, no team is ranked inside the top 15 for men‘s or women‘s.
Moreover, of all the opponents competing, many operate as club teams in comparison to Notre Dame’s varsity NCAA status. The other NCAA member teams at the meet are Cleveland State, Lawrence and Detroit Mercy, and while Northwestern‘s varsity women’s program is one of the best in the country, only the men‘s team will be in attendance.
In other words: Notre Dame’s chances to clean-sweep are high. If they are to do so, they need to get the most out of this roster, as the meet provides head coach Gia Kvaratskhelia the perfect opportunity to utilize his team’s immense depth.
Such a setup will be the exact opposite from the St. John’s Super Cup, in which Notre Dame faced every top six-ranked team in the nation for the men’s teams. In women’s, they faced No. 1 Columbia, No. 3 Princeton and No. 4 Harvard alongside two other top-15 teams in No. 7 Ohio State and No. 13 St. John’s.
At the Super Cup, senior foil specialist James Chen impressed for the Irish. After finishing third at the NCAA Championships last year, Chen has only shown more comfort on the strip in the new season. He finished 11-2 in New York.
Senior captain and sabre specialist Grant Dodrill also put together a superb showing. Dodrill went 11-4 at the Super Cup. His leadership on and off the strip proves to be a valuable asset for Kvaratskhelia’s team.
Dodrill is one of six captains Kvaratskhelia named this past week. He’s joined alongside junior sabre specialist Chelsea Delsoin, junior foil specialist Chase Emmer, senior epee specialist Jonathan Hamilton-Meikle, junior foil specialist Ryanne Leslie and senior epee specialist Eszter Muhari.
On the women’s side at the Super Cup, Notre Dame’s sophomore sensation Magda Skarbonkiewicz continued her stellar start to the season. The 2024 USA Olympian dominated at the Super Cup and looks to expand upon her 19 wins this season.
While these starts will certainly be on display this weekend, Kvaratskhelia will likely use this meet as an opportunity to allow fencers who don’t receive as much time on the strip a platform to showcase their talents. With March creeping up by the day, the value of having a roster that is sharp from top to bottom is indisputable.
The meet will be Notre Dame’s last competition at home until they return March 19-22 for the NCAA Fencing Championships, which marks the first time the national stage returns to Notre Dame since 2022.
