March 25, 2017

By Joanne Norell

INDIANAPOLIS — The University of Notre Dame strengthened its hold on the lead after penultimate day of competition at the 2017 National Collegiate Fencing Championships on Sunday at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The Fighting Irish remain in the lead with 152 points, followed by Ohio State with 131 and Columbia/Barnard with 126. Princeton (118) and St. John’s (105) round out the top five.

Foil
Columbia/Barnard, Notre Dame and Ohio State fencers are crowded at the top of the women’s foil standings, with all six recording at least 11 wins during the first three rounds of play on Saturday. Columbia’s Margaret Lu is currently on top with a 14-1 record and +40 indicator, followed by Notre Dame’s Sabrina Massialas (13-2, +33) and Lee Kiefer (12-3, +38). Iman Blow of Columbia sits in fourth with a 12-3 mark (+25), followed by Ohio State’s Alanna Goldie (11-4, +35) and Eleanor Harvey (11-4, +32).

Both Columbia and Notre Dame foilists went 3-1 against Ohio State’s squad. Columbia and Notre Dame will face each other in the fifth round on Sunday.

Epee
After three rounds, 2016 Olympian Katharine Holmes of Princeton sits in first place, posting a 13-2 mark with a +31 indicator. Close behind are teammate Anna Van Brummen (12-3, +24), Notre Dame’s Amanda Sirico (12-3, +24) and UC San Diego’s Taly Yukelson (12-3, +13). The next three fencers have nine wins apiece.

Princeton’s pair combined for 25 wins, outpacing the next team, Notre Dame, which had 18 combined wins.

Sabre
Notre Dame’s Francesca Russo is alone atop the sabre standings, going 14-1 on Saturday with a +35 indicator. Princeton’s Maia Chamberlain (13-2, +30), St. Johns’ Mathilda Taharo (13-2, +28) and Penn State’s Teodora Kakhiani (12-3, +18) round out the top 4.

Notre Dame topped the field in sabre, winning 23 bouts, followed by 22 by St. John’s and 21 by Princeton.

Up Next

Competition will conclude Sunday with the final two rounds of women’s epee, foil and sabre, followed by the semifinal and championship bouts. The semifinals and finals will begin at 1:30 p.m. ET and stream live on ESPN3 or the WatchESPN app.

— ND —