Irish dominate at ACC Championships
There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and the Notre Dame fencing program dismantling any opponent who dares to stand in its way.
The latter of these certainties was on wide-display this past weekend at the ACC Fencing Championships in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The women’s team swept the competition with Eszter Muhari, Rebeca Candescu and Magda Skarbonkiewicz all obtaining gold. On the men’s side of action, Liam Bas and Radu Nitu followed suit for the Irish.
The women competed individually on Saturday while the men’s team squared off in team play and vice versa on Sunday.
Women’s Epee
Muhari kicked off the women’s rampant success with a gold medal finish in epee. She bested Duke’s Rachel Kowalsky 15-11 before taking down teammates Kyle Fallon 15-10 and reigning ACC Individual champion Kaylin Hsieh in the championship match 14-11.
The title marks Muhari’s first conference championship. She won the 2023 NCAA Championship despite falling short in the ACC Championships, which was claimed by Hsieh. The match was a strategic affair with both fencers knowing their teammates' style - the key reason why time expired before 15 touches was reached. After the bout came to a close, the pair embraced in a mutual sign of respect.
Women’s Foil
In women’s foil, Candescu outlasted teammate Ariadna Tucker 15-13 in an instant classic. The senior got off to an early 6-0 lead on Tucker, but Tucker showed no signs of quit, going on an 8-2 run to tie the match at 8-8. However, Candescu regained her stride and was able to chip away via strong defense en route to her first ACC Individual Championship since her freshman year.
The result is an enormous confidence booster for Candescu as she seeks to rise in the national rankings and win her first Individual National Championship after a third place finish just a year ago, falling short to eventual champion Jessica Guo.
Women’s Saber
While Muhari and Candescu were quite reserved after claiming ACC glory, largely due to facing their teammates, Notre Dame’s saber specialist, Skarbonkiewicz, was anything but. Her victory cheer echoed around Chapel Hill after taking down Duke’s Kunling Tong 15-9 in the final.
The freshman, who arrived to South Bend as one of the top recruits in the country, has lived up to all of the hype and delivered yet again, outscoring her opponents 45-16. She heads into the NCAA Championships as the person to beat in saber and one of the best overall fencers in the country.
Men’s epee
Men’s epee was the only event of the tournament where the Irish didn’t obtain a gold medal or in fact, any medal at all. James Sennewald was the highest place finisher on the day for Notre Dame with his 6th place position. Eli Lippan of UNC Chapel Hill won gold and Stanford’s Alexander Jeon trailed just behind.
Men’s foil
Notre Dame got back on track in the men’s foil competition. Freshman Liam Bas defeated teammate Dominic Joseph. After an early 3-3 tie between the two, Bas exploded for a 10-0 run. That stretch of dominance proved to be enough for his first ACC Championship.
Men’s saber
The Irish collected all three medals in the men’s saber competition thanks to the performances of Nitu, Ahmed Hesham and Grant Dodrill. Nitu prevailed over Hesham in the gold medal contest 15-13. The tightly contested match was back and forth throughout. Tied at 13, Hesham went to attack but was sworn off by the nifty Nitu. Nitu’s gold medal is the fourth straight for Notre Dame in the ACC. The sophomore follows a two-peat from Irish legend Luke Linder and Jared Smith’s title in 2022.
Teams
To no one’s surprise, both the men and women programs won team gold as well. For the men’s side, it's their eighth ACC team championship in the last eleven years. The team won all four of their dual meets on their way to gold. Meanwhile, the women's side was much of the same story as they went undefeated on their way to their ninth ACC team championship in the same timeframe and fourth consecutively. Next up for both sides is the NCAA Midwest Regional on March 8 at Denison University.
