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2021 NCAA Championship Preview

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The University of Notre Dame fencing program will seek its 11th national title beginning Thursday as the 2021 National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Fencing Championships commence at Penn State University inside the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Irish were one of three teams to qualify the maximum 12 fencers (two per weapon, per gender), joining Penn State and UC San Diego in that number. The Irish have won two of the last three national titles and will look to add to the trophy case this weekend.

WHAT: 2021 National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Fencing Championships
WHERE: Bryce Jordan Center | University Park, Pa.
WHEN: March 25-28, 2021
WATCH: ESPN3 | Men’s Semifinals & Finals, 1 p.m. ET Friday; Women’s Semifinals & Finals, 1 p.m. ET Sunday
RESULTS:  Live Scores
INFO: Championship Central
TWITTER: @NDFencing

NCAA Championships Overview

The Irish fencing program has qualified the maximum of 12 fencers (two per weapon, per gender) to this year’s NCAA Championships, hosted by Penn State University. The Championships will be played in a five-round round robin format — with each fencer accumulating points with wins during the round robin — followed by the individual semifinal and championship bouts. Round robin bouts will be played to five touches, while the semifinals and finals will be 15-touch bouts. Each point earned contributes to a team score to determine the combined men’s and women’s team championship. The men will fence on Thursday and Friday, followed by the women on Saturday and Sunday.

Schedule of Events

(All Time Eastern)

Thursday
9 a.m. – Men’s Epee Rounds 1-3
11 a.m. – Men’s Foil Rounds 1-3
1:30 p.m. – Men’s Sabre Rounds 1-3
Friday
9 a.m. – Men’s Foil, Epee and Sabre Rounds 4-5
1 p.m. – Men’s Semifinal and Championship bouts in order of epee, foil, sabre
Saturday
9 a.m. – Women’s Epee Rounds 1-3
11 a.m. – Women’s Foil Rounds 1-3
1:30 p.m. – Women’s Sabre Rounds 1-3
Sunday
9 a.m. – Women’s Foil, Epee and Sabre Rounds 4-5
1 p.m. – Women’s Semifinal and Championship bouts in order of epee, foil, sabre

Irish Qualifiers

Men’s Epee
Stephen Ewart
Ariel Simmons

Men’s Foil
Andrew Machovec
Marcello Olivares

Men’s Sabre
Luke Linder
Jared Smith

Women’s Epee
Miriam Grady
Kaylin Hsieh

Women’s Foil
Amita Berthier
Stefani Deschner

Women’s Sabre
Atara Greenbaum
Kara Linder

Of Notre Dame’s 12 NCAA participants for 2019, nine boast previous national championship experience. Ariel Simmons will be making his fourth trip to nationals with his best finish of third place coming in 2017 and 2018. Miriam Grady and Kara Linder have both been selected for three straight NCAA appearances. Linder finished eighth and Grady finished 15th back in 2019 and the 2020 championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jared Smith, Marcello Olivares, Andrew Machovec and Stefani Deschner all earned their second all-time selections but were unable to compete last year at the championships. Stephen Ewart and Berthier will also be making their second appearance at NCAA’s.

Semifinals/Finals on ESPN3

A live feed of the semifinal and final bouts will be available on ESPN3 or the WatchESPN App beginning at 1 p.m. ET on both Friday and Sunday. The semifinals and finals, along with other championship highlights, will air on ESPNU at 4 p.m. ET on April 15. For more information about the championships, log onto NCAA.com or visit the championship central website here.

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