UCLA basketball. Alabama football. UNC women’s soccer. UConn women’s basketball. All are dynasties that have left an indelible mark on collegiate athletics.
After claiming the crown in both men’s and women’s fencing this season, Notre Dame is undoubtedly among them. In the modern era of college sports, Irish fencing’s 16 national championships now trail only Alabama football’s 18 and North Carolina soccer’s 23.
What’s more, they only seem to get better year after year. Following the Irish’s 2025 title, the NCAA, for the first time since 1989, split fencing into separate men’s and women’s championships, marking a new era for the sport. Led by head coach Gia Kvaratskhelia, Notre Dame captured its 15th and 16th national championships in March.
The Irish have now won 8 of the last 10 national championship offerings — failing to do so only in 2019 and 2024. In 2024, many on the team were training for the Olympics.
The best part of it all? Notre Dame hosted the 2026 NCAA Championships and had the chance to deliver under the bright lights of Purcell Pavilion.
“It was incredible excitement,” assistant coach Christian Rascioni said of the crowd. He noted that although fencing isn’t the most “visible sport,” opportunities like the NCAA Championships are a prime opportunity for them to grow the game.
With a golden opportunity at hand, Notre Dame met the moment. On the men’s side, junior foil specialist Chase Emmer and freshman epee specialist Kruz Schembri finished in second place individually. Meanwhile, sophomore Ahmed Hesham took home gold in saber – becoming just the fifth Irishman to do so.
In women’s action, sophomore saber specialist Magda Skarbonkiewicz earned silver while senior epee specialist Eszter Muhari won gold for the second year in a row.
Muhari, who missed her sophomore season to train for the Olympics, has won the individual title in all three years she has been able to compete. Her senior year triumph cements her as one of the greatest Notre Dame fencers of all time. A feat made even more impressive when considering the legends that came before her.
“She has an incredible feeling. She has the feeling of the touch, of the timing, and when to execute the right action at the right moment that is really extraordinary – probably one of the best in the world,” Rascioni said. “When the situation is getting tough, she has this incredible ability to tunnel and really focus.”
Muhari’s excellence is the culmination of everything Kvaratskhelia has been building since taking over the program in 2014. Widely considered one of the best coaches in all of intercollegiate athletics, Kvaratskhelia’s passion is unmatched.
“He’s the reason we’re constantly having these back-to-back titles,” Skarbonkiewicz said. “It’s the character, the grit, the personality and his infectious positive energy he brings in every day. It’s not just a team, it’s a family. One team, one heartbeat is his motto.”
Skarbonkiewicz is no less passionate about the sport of fencing herself. Just as Kvaratskhelia brings the constant energy, so does the superstar sophomore.
“Fencing is, of course, mostly individual, but it’s the ability to bring all her individual energy into the team environment. She’s really the soul of the women’s team,” Rascioni said of Skarbonkiewicz.
If Skarbonkiewicz is the soul, her lifelong friend and classmate sophomore Siobhan Sullivan is the backbone. Sullivan tied for third place in saber, helping the Irish move within reach of a team national championship.
And when it mattered most, it was Muhari who delivered. As Notre Dame and Columbia battled for the crown, she stepped up with a crucial pool-play victory that ultimately secured the title.
“It was amazing to experience doing it just as a girls’ team and knowing that we earned the trophy a couple days before we originally would,” Skarbonkiewicz said. “Last year, we were the ones that had to close the seasons for both men’s and women’s. This year, we got to do it just for women’s. It’s a really big and empowering step to be able to do it as our team and then also watch the guys do it for their own title.”
The men’s team followed suit with ease. Hesham, Emmer and Schembri starred as Notre Dame ultimately beat second-place Columbia by 10 points.
“We are the most hard-working team in the country,” Hesham said following the National Championship. “Every single one of the individuals that fenced and did not fence put so much effort in every week, and that’s why we’re the best.”
The statistics don't lie; Notre Dame fencing is the standard of excellence.
