Notre Dame Fighting Irish fencing explained

Teamname:	Notre Dame Fighting Irish fencing
Firstyear:	1934
Athleticdirector:	Pete Bevacqua
Headcoach:	Gia Kvaratskhelia
Headcoachyear:	3rd
Hcwins:	131
Hclosses:	11
Stadium:	Edmund P. Joyce Center
Location:	South Bend, Indiana
League:	Atlantic Coast Conference
Pastaffiliations:	Great Lakes Conference, Midwest Intercollegiate Conference, Midwest Fencing Conference
Natltitles:	13
Conftitles:	42
Allamericans:	41
Fightsong:	Notre Dame Victory March
Mascotdisplay:	Notre Dame Leprechaun

Notre Dame Fighting Irish fencing represents the University of Notre Dame in collegiate fencing. The Irish compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I.

National championships

• Men: 1977, 1978, 1986
• Women: 1987
• Co-ed: 1994, 2003, 2005, 2011, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023

Individual championships

• Women's Foil
  • Molly Sullivan (1986), Molly Sullivan (1988), Heidi Piper (1991), Alicja Kryczalo (2002), Alicja Kryczalo (2003), Alicja Kryczalo (2004), Lee Kiefer (2013), Lee Kiefer (2014), Lee Kiefer (2015), Lee Kiefer (2017), Stefani Deschner (2021)
• Women's Épée
  • Magda Krol (1997), Kerry Walton (2002), Kelly Hurley (2008), Courtney Hurley (2011), Courtney Hurley (2013), Eszter Muhari (2023)
• Women's Sabre
  • Valerie Providenza (2004), Mariel Zagunis (2006), Sarah Borrmann (2008), Francesca Russo (2015), Francesca Russo (2017), Kara Linder (2021)
• Men's Foil
  • Pat Gerard (1977), Andrew Bonk (1979), Charles Higgs-Coulthard (1984), Gerek Meinhardt (2010), Ariel DeSmet (2011), Gerek Meinhardt (2014), Nick Itkin (2018), Nick Itkin (2019), Marcello Olivares (2021)
• Men's Épée
  • Björne Väggö (1978), Ola Harstrom (1983), Jubba Beshin (1990), Michal Sobieraj (2005),
• Men's Sabre
  • Mike Sullivan (1977), Mike Sullivan (1978), Luke LaValle (1998), Gabor Szelle (2000), Luke Linder (2021)

Coaches

Rolando Tucker Leon (2021-present)

Gia Kvaratskhelia (2014-present)

Janusz Bednarski (2003-2014)

Yves Auriol (1996-2002, Men's; 1986-2002, Women's)

Michael De Cicco (1962-1995)

Herbert S. Melton, Jr. (1946-1950)

Walter Langford (1940-1943, 1951-1961)

The Winning Streak

From 1975 to 1980, the Irish won 122 straight regular season matches, surpassing John Wooden's 88 consecutive basketball wins to set the NCAA varsity sports winning streak record, a record not broken for over a decade. (Interestingly, UCLA lost to Austin Carr's Notre Dame team in 1971, then went undefeated until Adrian Dantley's Notre Dame team in 1974). The Irish won their first national championship in 1977 and again in 1978; Mike DeCicco led them to NCAA championships again in 1986, 1987, and 1994. The Irish now hold 13 national championships, including three consecutive championships in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

Castellan Family Fencing Center

The Irish practice at the Castellan Family Fencing Center, which opened in 2012 as part of the Joyce Center. It features locker rooms for men and women, coaches' offices, a lounge area, a repair room, and a conference room.

References

http://www.und.com/sports/c-fenc/archive/nd-c-fenc-archive.html

https://www.ncaa.com/history/fencing/nc

https://und.com/news/2018/3/25/Notre_Dame_Clinches_Tenth_National_Fencing_Title.aspx

https://und.com/fencing-wins-11th-national-championship-in-program-history/