CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Notre Dame won five of the eight Atlantic Coast Conference Fencing Awards for the 2025-26 season, which were announced Wednesday following a vote of the league’s five head coaches.
The 2026 ACC Fencer of the Year Awards are highlighted by three fencers who won national championships, with North Carolina’s Youssef Shamel (epee) and Notre Dame’s Ahmed Hesham (sabre) on the men’s side and Eszter Muhari (epee) on the women’s side. North Carolina’s Peter Bruk earned ACC Fencer of the Year in men’s foil, while Stanford’s Arianna Cao repeated as ACC Fencer of the Year in women’s foil and Notre Dame’s Magda Skarbonkiewicz claimed her second straight ACC Fencer of the Year distinction in women’s sabre.
Notre Dame head coach Gia Kvaratskhelia earned ACC Coach of the Year honors for both men’s and women’s fencing after leading the Fighting Irish to team national championships in both competitions.
Muhari was named ACC Fencer of the Year in women’s epee for the third time (2023, 2025). She won her third NCAA women’s epee championship, including her second straight. A senior from Budapest, Hungary, Muhari went 15-6 in intercollegiate competition during the regular season.
Cao earned ACC Fencer of the Year honors in women’s foil after earning All-America honors for the second straight season and winning the ACC individual title in the event. The junior out of San Jose, California, posted a 38-12 mark in intercollegiate competition this season.
Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Skarbonkiewicz was the national runner-up in women’s sabre. The sophomore also was the silver medalist in sabre at the 2026 ACC Championships. Skarbonkiewicz went 26-7 in the regular season in intercollegiate action.
Shamel shined in his freshman season, capped by winning the national championship in men’s epee, becoming UNC’s first national champion in 43 years. The native of Tanta, Egypt, also won the ACC epee championship as well as the 2026 ACC Championships Most Valuable Fencer award. He became the first UNC fencer to win an ACC and National Championship. Shamel was 19-2 in intercollegiate competition during the regular season.
A sophomore from Hoboken, New Jersey, Bruk matched the best finish by any foil fencer in program history, taking third at the NCAA Championships, and earning his second consecutive All-America honor. He also won the ACC men’s foil title, capturing the Tar Heels’ first men’s foil ACC Championship since 1975. In the regular season, he was 25-9 in intercollegiate action.
Hesham captured the NCAA sabre individual title as well as the ACC individual crown. He earned All-America honors for the second straight season after placing third at NCAAs during his freshman season in 2025. Hailing from Cairo, Egypt, Hesham also had a dominant regular season, going 18-3 in intercollegiate competition.
Kvaratskhelia was voted ACC Women’s Coach of the Year for the ninth time and ACC Men’s Coach of the Year for the eighth time after guiding Notre Dame to the men’s and women’s team national championships. He now has led the Fighting Irish to eight national championships during his remarkable tenure, including six co-ed national crowns (2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025). In addition to winning the national title, the Fighting Irish women captured the ACC team championship this season, their 10th in the last 12 seasons.
2026 ACC Fencers of the Year
Men’s Epee: Youssef Shamel, Fr., North Carolina
Men’s Foil: Peter Bruk, So., North Carolina
Men’s Sabre: Ahmed Hesham, So., Notre Dame
Women’s Epee: Eszter Muhari, Sr., Notre Dame
Women’s Foil: Arianna Cao, Jr., Stanford
Women’s Sabre: Magda Skarbonkiewicz, So., Notre Dame
2026 Men’s Coach of the Year Gia Kvaratskhelia, Notre Dame
2026 Women’s Coach of the Year: Gia Kvaratskhelia, Notre Dame