SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s fencing team dominated the first day of NCAA Championships on Thursday at the Castellan Family Fencing Center. The women’s round robin competition was first and all three weapons dominated the field in the opening rounds of the weekend.
The Irish finished day one of nationals with the top finisher in women’s epee and top-10 finishers in all three weapons. As a team, Notre Dame sits in first place with 65 points and are seven points ahead of any other team. Princeton is in second place with 58 points, and Columbia sits in third with 55 points.
Women’s Epee
Kaylin Hsieh dominated her first day of action that led her to first place going into day two. Hsieh finished 14-1 on the day. Amanda Pirkowski had a strong showing on the strip when she finished 9-6 and heads into day two of competition in sixth place.
Hsieh got out to a quick start when she went 7-0 through her first round and then 3-1 through the second round. She then finished out on a strong note when she had four straight victories to give her a 14-1 record on the day. Pirkowski went 5-2 through her first round to start out strong in her first NCAA Championship. She continued through rounds two and three with two victories to give her sixth place, but not far behind the rest of the field.
Women’s Foil
The foil squad had a strong showing when they collected a cumulative 21 wins through the first three rounds. Amita Berthier jumped out to a quick six wins through her first round to take fifth place after the first three rounds. Berthier tallied eleven wins through all three rounds with only four losses.
Competing in her first ever NCAA Championship Nicole Pustilnik showed out with a 10-5 record and finished in ninth place. She had five immediate wins in her first round. She continued on with five more wins across her final two rounds.
Women’s Sabre
Atara Greenbaum dominated her way through three rounds with an 11-4 record on the day. She set herself up for fifth place with her eleven wins. Greenbaum had her best stretch when she had four straight wins through round two and then finished out with three wins in the final round of the day.
Kara Linder sits in sixth place after the first three rounds. She tallied ten wins on the day with even matchups throughout the three rounds. She had two wins in round one, three in round two, and five wins in the third round.
STANDINGS
NATIONAL COLLEGIATE FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS
MARCH 24-27, 2021
CASTELLAN FAMILY FENCING CENTER | NOTRE DAME
SOUTH BEND, IND.
WOMEN’S COMPETITION (MARCH 24-25)
Epee (Rounds 1-3)
- Kaylin Hsieh, 14-1 (+33)
- Amanda Pirkowksi, 9-6 (+10)
Foil (Rounds 1-3)
- Amita Berthier 11-4 (+19)
- Nicole Pustilnik 10-5 (+10)
Sabre (Rounds 1-3)
- Atara Greenbaum 11-4 (+16)
- Kara Linder 10-5 (+16)
Team Standings
- Notre Dame 65
- Princeton 58
- Columbia 55
Up Next
The women will return to the trip for the final two rounds of the round-robin play Friday morning. After the two rounds are completed, the top-four finishers will advance to the semifinals starting at 1:30 p.m. ET in the afternoon.