Penn Fencers Secure NCAA Championship Bids

PHILADELPHIA – Ten fencers from the University of Pennsylvania have earned automatic bids to the 2026 NCAA Fencing Championships, as announced by the NCAA on March 10, 2026 . The championships will be held at the Joyce Center on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, from March 19-22, 2026 .

Penn’s Championship Qualifiers

The ten Penn fencers qualifying for the NCAA Championships represent all three weapons: épée, foil, and sabre. The qualifiers are:

• Épée: Grace Hu, Victoria Kuznetsov, Simon Lioznyansky, Joseph Wu
• Foil: Kimberley Jang, Conrad Lo
• Sabre: Leah Blum, Antonio Heathcock, Lila Paul, Jaesun Yun

Recent Achievements

Sophomore Antonio Heathcock and junior Victoria Kuznetsov have demonstrated strong performance leading up to the championships, earning medals at recent competitions. Heathcock secured a gold medal in sabre, while Kuznetsov earned a bronze medal in épée . Six other Penn men’s fencers placed within the top ten in their respective weapons, including junior Joseph Wu (7th in épée), freshman Conrad Lo (8th in foil), freshman Simon Lioznyansky (9th in épée), and sophomore Jaesun Yun (10th in sabre). On the women’s side, freshman Kimberley Jang finished third in foil, while junior Leah Blum tied for fourth in sabre, junior Grace Hu placed fifth in épée, and freshman Lila Paul finished sixth in sabre.

Championship Format

The NCAA Fencing Championships will feature individual events in each of the six weapons: men’s épée, men’s foil, men’s sabre, women’s épée, women’s foil, and women’s sabre . Fencers will compete in a round-robin format, with five-touch bouts determining rankings. The top four finishers in each weapon will advance to semifinal 15-touch bouts, culminating in a final bout to determine first and second place. Those not advancing will tie for third place. Team scores will be based on points earned by each individual fencer, with one point awarded for each victory during round-robin competition.

Historic Championships

This year’s championships will be historic as the NCAA will crown separate men’s and women’s team champions for the first time since 1989 .

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