Oct. 9, 2017
2017-18 Notre Dame Fencing Schedule
By Joanne Norell
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The reigning 2017 NCAA Champion University of Notre Dame fencing program released its 2017-18 schedule Monday, and another strong slate of opponents awaits the Irish as they look to pursue a second straight title.
The Irish will compete in seven one- and two-day collegiate events throughout the winter en route to the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships taking place toward the end of February. Notre Dame fencers will also participate in several USA Fencing events throughout the year, including North American Cup events in Anaheim, California; Kansas City, Missouri; Portland, Oregon; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Richmond, Virginia.
“We have a challenging schedule, facing several truly outstanding teams,” head coach Gia Kvaratskhelia said. “They always give us their best shot because of who we are. Winning the title last year just gives our opponents much more motivation. I’m confident that our team will be ready to face the challenge.”
?️ The ’17-18 schedule is ???
? Facing the best to remain the best
? RELEASE ? https://t.co/oijTUkQ76S pic.twitter.com/MP5qHDZU0N
– Notre Dame Fencing (@NDFencing) October 9, 2017
The Irish will kick off the NCAA season on Nov. 5 at the annual Elite Invitational, this season hosted by Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. They will take a break until the new year, when competition begins in earnest, with the St. John’s SuperCup in Jamaica, New York (Jan. 20, 2018) and NYU Invitational in Philadelphia (Jan. 21, 2018) taking place on the east coast before the Irish host dual events on two consecutive weekends.
The annual DeCicco Duals are slated for Jan. 27-28 on what will be a newly renovated floor at the Castellan Family Fencing Center. The following weekend, Notre Dame will serve as host for the Northwestern Duals (Feb. 2-3) for the third straight season. The Irish will wrap the regular season at the Duke Duals, Feb. 10-11 in Durham, North Carolina.
North Carolina will serve as the host of this year’s ACC Championships (Feb. 24-25), where the Irish men and women will each be seeking their fourth straight conference titles. The NCAA Midwest Regional Championships are slated for March 10, followed by the NCAA Championships from March 22-25 at Penn State University.
The Irish claimed their ninth national title in 2017 after one of the most dominant performances at the NCAA Championships in program history. Notre Dame’s final total of 186 points bested second-place Ohio State by 25; were the most for the Irish in a title victory; and were the most for a winning team since Penn State’s 191 total in 2010. The Irish boasted two individual national champions in Lee Kiefer (’17, women’s foil) and Francesca Russo (senior, women’s sabre) and nine All-Americans (seven of which return in 2017-18).
2017-18 Notre Dame Fencing Schedule
Nov. 5, 2017 – Elite Invitational (Columbus, Ohio)
Jan. 20, 2018 – St. John’s SuperCup (Jamaica, N.Y.)
Jan. 21, 2018 – NYU Invitational (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Jan 27-28, 2018 – DeCicco Duals (Notre Dame, Ind.)
Feb. 2-3, 2018 – Northwestern Duals (Notre Dame, Ind.)
Feb. 10-11, 2018 – Duke Duals (Durham, N.C.)
Feb. 24-25, 2018 – ACC Championships (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
March 10, 2018 – NCAA Midwest Regional Championships (Cleveland, Ohio)
March 22-25, 2018 – NCAA Championships (University Park, Pa.)
–ND–
Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs, in addition to overseeing production of the football Gameday Magazine. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.