Thursday, March 19
South Bend, Ind.
9 a.m.
Ohio State
vs
NCAA Women's Championships
NCAA Champ! Botello Claims Saber Title
3/20/2026 6:09:00 PM | Fencing
Klughardt named a Second Team All-American
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Natalia Botello of the Ohio State women's fencing team claimed the 2026 NCAA saber title Friday on day two of the 2026 NCAA Championships in Notre Dame, Ind. Gloria Klughardt earned Second Team All-America accolades with an eighth-place finish.
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Botello is the first Buckeye to win the NCAA women's saber crown and earns a second consecutive First Team All-America honor. She is the fourth individual national champion in women's program history, joining Katarzyna Dabrowa (epee, 2012), Eleanor Harvey (foil, 2016) and Yelena Kalkina (epee, 1997). Ohio State has three men's saber titles, all won by Adam Crompton (2003, '04, '06). The last Buckeye to claim an NCAA title was Gabriel Feinberg, the 2022 men's epee champion.
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The Buckeye Women on Day Two
A native of Tijuana, Mexico, and a junior Botello, who was 15-0 on day one in saber, ended the five rounds of pools 21-2 (+56 indicator) with a 6-2 ledger Friday. She was the No. 1 seed in the semifinals. In her first bout, Botello topped Siobhan Sullivan of Notre Dame, 15-11. In the final, Botello took on No. 2 seed Magda Skarbonkiewicz of the Irish, jumping out to a 12-4 lead en route to a 15-5 victory. Botello earned her second First Team All-America honor.
In women's epee, Gloria Klughardt was 5-3 Friday to secure Second Team All-America accolades with an eighth-place finish. She was 14-9 (+8) over the five rounds.
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Epeeist Marie-Frederique Millette was 3-5 on day two, finishing 8-15 (-24) to placed 20th.
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Botello and Klughardt were both making their second NCAA appearance, while Millette made her debut at the national championships.
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As a team, the Buckeyes finished the championship in seventh place. Host Notre Dame won the women's team title.
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Men's Championships Up Next
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Botello is the first Buckeye to win the NCAA women's saber crown and earns a second consecutive First Team All-America honor. She is the fourth individual national champion in women's program history, joining Katarzyna Dabrowa (epee, 2012), Eleanor Harvey (foil, 2016) and Yelena Kalkina (epee, 1997). Ohio State has three men's saber titles, all won by Adam Crompton (2003, '04, '06). The last Buckeye to claim an NCAA title was Gabriel Feinberg, the 2022 men's epee champion.
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The Buckeye Women on Day Two
A native of Tijuana, Mexico, and a junior Botello, who was 15-0 on day one in saber, ended the five rounds of pools 21-2 (+56 indicator) with a 6-2 ledger Friday. She was the No. 1 seed in the semifinals. In her first bout, Botello topped Siobhan Sullivan of Notre Dame, 15-11. In the final, Botello took on No. 2 seed Magda Skarbonkiewicz of the Irish, jumping out to a 12-4 lead en route to a 15-5 victory. Botello earned her second First Team All-America honor.
In women's epee, Gloria Klughardt was 5-3 Friday to secure Second Team All-America accolades with an eighth-place finish. She was 14-9 (+8) over the five rounds.
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Epeeist Marie-Frederique Millette was 3-5 on day two, finishing 8-15 (-24) to placed 20th.
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Botello and Klughardt were both making their second NCAA appearance, while Millette made her debut at the national championships.
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As a team, the Buckeyes finished the championship in seventh place. Host Notre Dame won the women's team title.
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Men's Championships Up Next
- The NCAA Men's Championships, with four Buckeye qualifiers, will be held Saturday and Sunday.
- On day one, rounds 1-3 of epee will start at 9 a.m., with rounds 1-3 of foil beginning at 11 a.m. and rounds 1-3 of saber starting at 1:30 p.m.
- Day two includes rounds 4-5 of all three weapons starting at 9 a.m. The semifinals will be at 1:30 p.m., with the finals to follow. An awards ceremony for the Top 3 teams, individual champions and Top 8 finishers will follow the finals.
- Links for live results and video and championship information is available on the Championship Central page. The semifinal and championship bouts will be live on ESPN+, with a two-hour edited show airing on ESPNU at 5 p.m. April 1.
- At the championships, fencers compete in a round-robin format of five-touch bouts. After round-robin, the Top 4 finishers in each weapon will fence in semifinal 15-touch bouts, with winners fencing to determine first and second places and non-advancing fencers awarded a tie for third place. An institution's place finish in the championships will be based on points earned by each individual. A team will be awarded one point for each victory by its student-athletes during round-robin competition.
Players Mentioned
Sabre
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Epee
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Epee
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