Notre Dame fencing completed the first full NCAA team championship sweep by a host school in more than a decade on Sunday, as the Fighting Irish men's and women's squads both lifted trophies at the 2026 NCAA Fencing Championships in South Bend, Indiana.
The men's title was never in genuine doubt, with Notre Dame's balanced three-weapon depth producing a comfortable cushion by the final rotations. The women's event, by contrast, came down to a heart-stopping final bout that saw Notre Dame edge Columbia 102-99 — the tightest margin of the entire championship weekend.
For Irish head coach Gia Kvaratskhelia and his staff, hosting duty carried pressure as well as opportunity. The championships had last been held in South Bend in 2022; the decision to bring them back in 2026 was tied to Notre Dame's continued investment in facilities and in a fencing program that has consistently finished in the NCAA's top three over the past decade.
Columbia's women's squad had led at multiple points during the two-day final round, and the Lions appeared to have momentum with five bouts remaining. But a late run by Notre Dame's sabre and epee lineups shifted the cumulative touch count, and the 102-99 final score reflected just how narrow the margin had been.
Notre Dame's men's team was anchored by an epee squad that included Kruz Schembri, who would later reach the individual epee final before losing to North Carolina's Youssef Shamel 15-7. Schembri's tournament silver was a measure of consolation in a program that otherwise controlled proceedings.
Across individual events, Notre Dame placed fencers in three separate finals, though the headline individual title at men's epee ultimately went to UNC. The depth of Notre Dame's weapon pools, rather than any one breakout star, is what delivered the double team championship.
Kvaratskhelia's program has now won multiple team titles in the current decade, and its consistency is increasingly becoming a talking point among collegiate coaches. Where Ivy League programs rotate in and out of championship contention based on individual recruiting classes, Notre Dame has built a pipeline that reliably produces top-eight finishes across all three weapons in both men's and women's rosters.
The women's title is particularly notable given Columbia's strong recent form and the Lions' multiple individual international medalists. Columbia head coach Michael Aufrichtig will point to the 102-99 margin as evidence his program is close; inside Notre Dame, the same scoreline is framed as proof that home-strip resilience ultimately made the difference.
For returning Notre Dame fencers, attention now turns to the senior national qualifying circuit, where several members of both rosters will push for inclusion on US junior and senior national teams over the summer. The collegiate pathway has increasingly become a feeder for the American national program, and Notre Dame's ability to convert NCAA performance into international selection will be tested in the coming months.
For now, though, the Fighting Irish have done something no home program has done in a generation — hosted the NCAA Fencing Championships and walked away with both team trophies. Whether the sport's depth will allow the feat to be repeated any time soon remains an open question. For 2026, at least, South Bend belongs to fencing.
