The Notre Dame fencing team was heavily featured throughout the prestigious 2025 Junior Olympics in Charlotte, North Carolina. Both the men’s and women’s programs featured several fencers battling in the Division 1 field throughout the four-day competition, spanning from Feb. 14-17.
Fresh off an undefeated showing at the Benguient Classic, Magda Skarbonkiewicz continued upon her success with a gold place finish in sabre, ousting North Carolina’s Sophia Kovacs. Skarbonkiewicz was down 13-8 in the final before rallying her way to a comeback victory. In total, 178 competitors competed in the sabre event.
Skarbonkiewicz is no stranger to the national stage. The freshman from Portland, Oregon, represented the United States of America at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. Before that accomplishment, Skarbonkiewicz won double gold at the 2023 Pan American Games and won gold at two Cadet World Championships.
In men’s foil, junior Chase Emmer was down early in the gold medal match to reigning NCAA National Champion, Pennsylvania’s Bryce Louie. Despite tightening the gap to 14-13, Louie produced one final touch to win the match 15-13. Emmer’s silver medal was the top male Irish performance of the day. Notre Dame’s roster starred six more competitors in the foil event: Mason Stanley (24), Jack Oursler (35), Ziyuan Chen (44), Dom Joseph (45), Liam Bas (59) and Kevin Bae (113).
Meanwhile, in women’s foil, Notre Dame put on a stellar performance, placing themselves firmly as the top overall collegiate program in attendance. Victoria Pevzner, off the back of an 8-2 record at the Beguinet Classic, finished in fifth place. Ryanne Leslie (9), JoJo Conway (12) and Meredith Palmer (T25) weren’t far behind. As a freshman, Pevzner has shown to be Notre Dame’s premier foil specialist and has only gotten better as the season has progressed. Similarly, sophomore Ryanne Leslie — who finished fifth at the ACC Championships in 2024 — has continued upon her first-year success this season.
Freshman Emma Griffin, who finished 5-1 at the Beguinet Classic and totaled 10 wins at Northwestern Duals the week prior, did not participate in the competition.
The Irish men’s sabre roster consisted of Matthew Chan, Rodrigo Fernandez and Ian Greenbaum. The three athletes took on the competition Tuesday morning. Although none placed, it was an encouraging showing from the young crop of fencers.
In women’s epee, Kyle Fallon and Felicity Sebastian placed 37th and 51st respectively. Both fell short in the round of 64 with Fallon losing to Columbia’s Sophia Jakel and Sebastian to Desai Meera, one of the top high school epee recruits in the country. The tournament proved to be a strong test for both fencers as they prepare for the ACC Championships this upcoming month.
To round off the tournament, the men’s epee team saw some Irish-on-Irish action. In the round of 32, juniors Nicholas Candela and Noah Silvers squared off against one another. Candela came out victorious. Candela would work his way through to the semi-finals, taking down Omari Smoak and Skyler Liverant on the way. The junior gracefully bowed out to reigning NCAA Individual National Champion, Princeton’s Tristan Szapary, by a score of 15-8. On the other side of the bracket, freshman Kent Iyoki fell short to fencing veteran Oleg Knysh in the round of 32.
Looking ahead
From here on out, it’s nothing but postseason play for Notre Dame. The Irish will head to the ACC Championships in Chapel Hill from Feb. 22-23 before the NCAA Midwest Regional in Granville, Ohio, on March 8. Following regionals, Notre Dame will attempt to continue upon its historic success where head coach Gia Kvaratskhelia and his program look to obtain their fourth Co-Ed Championship in five seasons and ninth overall.
