Final Results
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (theACC.com) – Notre Dame rolled to the 11th national championship in program history on Sunday, as the Fighting Irish won the team crown at the 2021 National Collegiate Men's and Women's Fencing Championships, which were held at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania.
The title is the third in the last four championships for Notre Dame, and the third for head coach Gia Kvaratskhelia. Notre Dame racked up 201 points to outdistance runner-up Penn State, which finished with 182. The Irish's 201 points marked the most by any team in history in the current championship format. The team championship is a combined title for the men and women.
“Very grateful for the occasion and very happy for our program, especially for our kids and our coaches,” said Kvaratskhelia. “The competition was a joy for us. We were deprived of the opportunity to compete last year so we tried to enjoy this run as much as we could.”
All four ACC programs finished among the top eight in the team race. Duke, North Carolina and Boston College all recorded their best finishes ever at the team championships. The Blue Devils took third with 130 points, while UNC was sixth (105) and BC eighth (82).
The Fighting Irish won two women’s individual championships Sunday as Stefanie Deschner notched the foil crown and Kara Linder picked up the sabre title. Marcello Olivares (foil) and Luke Linder (sabre) won men’s individual crowns Saturday, and Notre Dame matched a NCAA Championships record with four individual championships (Penn State, 2009).
Deschner claimed the women’s foil crown with a 15-9 triumph over Penn State’s Lodovica Bicego in the championship bout. The Fighting Irish’s Amita Berthier tied for third, while Duke’s Christina Ferrari placed fifth to reach the podium.
A day after her younger brother claimed the men’s sabre title, Kara Linder won her own sabre championship Sunday. After outlasting Penn State’s Kelli Wozniak and winning on the final touch, 15-14, in the semifinals, Linder rolled to a 15-4 victory over Northwestern’s Sky Miller in the championship bout. Duke’s Alex Gorman also earned a podium finish in sabre with a sixth-place effort.
Notre Dame’s Kaylin Hsieh was the national runner-up in epee, falling on the final touch of the championship bout, 14-13, to LIU’s Laura Fekete. She was joined on the podium by teammate Miriam Grady, who tied for third place.
Twenty-eight ACC fencers earned All-America honors by virtue of their finishes at the championships. Each of Notre Dame’s 12 fencers who competed at the championships finished as All-Americans. Duke had nine All-Americans, while Boston College had four and North Carolina three.
Final Team Standings (Top 10)
1. Notre Dame, 201
2. Penn State, 182
3. Duke, 130
4. NJIT, 128
5. St. John’s, 106
6. North Carolina, 105
7. UC San Diego, 99
8. Boston College, 82
9. Air Force, 79
10. Northwestern, 75
ACC All-Americans
Women’s Sabre
1. Kara Linder, Notre Dame
6. Alex Gorman, Duke
10. Anneke Zegers, Duke
11. Atara Greenbaum, Notre Dame
Women’s Foil
1. Stefanie Deschner, Notre Dame
T3. Amita Berthier, Notre Dame
5. Christian Ferrari, Duke
10. Louise Tang, Duke
Women’s Epee
2. Kaylin Hsieh, Notre Dame
T3. Miriam Grady, Notre Dame
10. Allegra Parker, North Carolina
12. Sarah Lurye, Duke
Men’s Sabre
1. Luke Linder, Notre Dame
2. Jared Smith, Notre Dame
5. Stephen Kim, Duke
6. Beni Rabinowitz, North Carolina
7. Bolang Meng, Boston College
8. Spencer Kuldell, Boston College
9. Alec Mulvaney, North Carolina
Men’s Foil
1. Marcello Olivares, Notre Dame
2. Andrew Machovec, Notre Dame
T3. Finn Hossfeld, Duke
7. Bin Huang, Boston College
12. Brycen Rushing, Duke
Men’s Epee
2. Stephen Ewart, Notre Dame
5. Ariel Simmons, Notre Dame
6. Jason Post, Duke
12. Daniel Gaidar, Boston College