Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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48 APRIL/MAY 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TODD D. BURLAGE D espite entering the 2025-26 NCAA Fencing National Championships March 19-22 as the defending title holders and the most decorated college program in the country, nothing came eas- ily for the heavily favored Fighting Irish on their way to dual women's and men's team titles. As the host school of the event inside the Joyce Center, Notre Dame had the added pressure of performing well in front of its home faithful. And, with a new format of separate men's and women's competitions instead of the traditional one single combined co-ed event, any mistakes would be magnified and room for error cut in half. No matter. After trailing Columbia by as many as eight points during the first day of competition, the Irish women won 20 of 24 bouts in the three-weapon event on Day 2, came from behind, and claimed a tight 102-99 victory over Columbia, and the first- ever NCAA women's national championship. Princ- eton finished third with 71 points. The Notre Dame men had an "easier" time on their way to a first-ever men's team title, leading wire to wire for a 91-81 title triumph over Colum- bia. St. John's finished third with 63 points. These two team titles marked the 15th and 16th national championships for Irish fencing, includ- ing the seventh and eighth in 12 seasons under head coach Gia Kvaratskhelia, who swelled with pride after the steady and gutsy performance of his athletes. "They were defending national champions. And defending the title is always harder than winning the title because the expectations are so high," Kvaratskhelia explained. "And secondly, they com- peted at home and that puts more stress and pres- sure on the athletes. You don't want that trophy to be taken away from your own compound." Kvaratskhelia was especially impressed with how his women's team never flinched after trailing Co- lumbia after Day 1. " T h i s o n e t r u l y showed some grit and tenacity," Kvaratskhelia said. " The harder the competition became, the better they com- peted. I could not be prouder of our ladies who really handled that stress level." In all, six Irish women e a r n e d A l l - A m e r i c a honors, including se- n i o r E sz te r M u h a r i , who claimed her third individual and her second straight national title in epee. Meanwhile, the Irish men earned five All- America honors, including one from sophomore Ahmed Hesham, who claimed his first individual title in sabre in the final bout of championship weekend. These marked the 49th and 50th indi- vidual titles in Fighting Irish fencing history. Notre Dame sophomores Magda Skarbonkiewicz and Siobhan Sullivan finished second and third, respectively, in women's sabre. Irish freshman Kruz Schembri (epee) and junior Chase Emmer (foil) both finished as national runner-up in their events for the Irish men. "Tactically and mentally our athletes stayed in it all the way through it," Kvaratskhelia said. "It's one of the best efforts I've seen in my career as a coach." ✦ Irish Fencing Sweeps New-Look National Championships N O T R E D A M E S P O R T S The Fighting Irish men and women (above) claimed the 15th and 16th national championships in program history. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS Irish Roundup BASEBALL (15-12 OVERALL, 6-9 ACC) Began the season with 15 wins in their first 21 games and ascended to No. 23 in the national rankings … Started ACC play 6-3 before dropping six straight to North Carolina March 28-29 and at NC State April 2-4. MEN'S GOLF Placed sixth in the Johnnie-O At Sea Island March 9-10 … Finished in fourth- place at the Schenkel Invitational March 13-15 … Tied for fifth in the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational April 4-5. WOMEN'S GOLF Had a third-place showing in the Space Coast Classic Feb. 21-22 … Placed second at the Social Spring Invite March 8-10 … Tied for eighth in the Briar's Creek Invitational March 16-17. HOCKEY (9-23-5 OVERALL, 5-17-2 BIG TEN) Went 3-2-1 down the stretch but their season come to an end with a 6-1 loss to No. 1 Michigan in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament March 11. MEN'S LACROSSE (7-1 OVERALL, 0-1 ACC) Extended their season-opening win streak to six matches while rising to the No. 1 ranking in the country … Dropped their ACC opener 11-9 at Virginia March 28 … Bounced back with a 12-8 win over No. 1 Richmond April 4 in Evanston, Ill., and moved up to No. 2 in the national rankings. WOMEN'S LACROSSE (11-3 OVERALL, 5-3 ACC) Lost three of five after opening the season 4-0 … Won their next five in deci- sive fashion, over Florida State (22-3 March 21), Robert Morris (20-2 March 24) and Cal (17-4 March 28), Virginia Tech (13-9 April 4) and Liberty (21-7 April 6). SOFTBALL (16-22 OVERALL, 5-10 ACC) Endured a nine-game losing streak from Feb. 20 to March 6 before win- ning nine of their next 15 contests, which included ACC series wins at No. 20 Stanford March 13-15 and over Cal March 27-29 in South Bend. SWIMMING & DIVING The men notched a ninth-place finish and the women came in 11th in the ACC Championships Feb. 15-21 in Atlanta … The women tied for 33rd March 18-21 and the men placed 37th March 25-28 at the NCAA Championships in Atlanta. MEN'S TENNIS (19-6 OVERALL, 8-4 ACC) Ascended to as high as No. 15 in the national rankings after winning 14 of their first 16 matches this season … Lost 4-0 at No. 4 Wake Forest March 13 and 4-3 at NC State March 15 before winning five straight … Suffered a pair of 4-1 defeats at Virginia April 3 and at Virginia Tech April 5. WOMEN'S TENNIS (15-8 OVERALL, 5-7 ACC) Lost five consecutive matches after their 12-2 start … Rebounded with a pair of ACC victories versus Stanford (4-3 March 27) and Cal (4-1 March 29) … Split a pair of matches, with a 4-2 win at Wake Forest April 3 and a 4-0 loss at NC State April 5. TRACK & FIELD The men notched a seventh-place showing and the women finished ninth at the ACC Championships Feb. 26-28 in Boston … Neither team scored at the NCAA Championships March 13-14 in Fayetteville, Ark.