When the Olympic Games take place in Paris beginning this month, the NCAA’s presence on Team USA will be massive, with current, former or incoming student-athletes making up 75% of the 592 team members. Twenty-one Team USA teams comprise at least 80% current, former or incoming college athletes, including 14 that are 100% NCAA athletes

Team USA fencing is one of those sports to boast a roster made up completely of athletes with NCAA connections, reinforcing how the college model serves as a vital training ground for Olympic athletes. This team of 15, plus five alternates, will compete in five events: women’s foil, women’s saber, women’s epee, men’s foil and men’s saber. These Olympians not only will be competing for Team USA while in Paris but will also be representing six NCAA schools across three conferences.

As these Olympians compete on the biggest international stage, they hand credit to the NCAA and their schools for preparing them.

“NCAA fencing is a huge part of Team USA fencing,” said Gerek Meinhardt, a veteran Team USA fencer. “Almost all of us have gone through it, and it is a totally different format. It’s something that is so exciting, something so different from international fencing, and you gotta love it.”

Eli Dershwitz, another veteran fencer, shared a similar sentiment.

“NCAA fencing is such an incredible help in producing experienced and very physically dominant fencers on the senior circuit,” Dershwitz said. “When you look at how many NCAA champions across six events end up on the Olympic team a few years later, it’s a pretty strong correlation.”

Meet the team

• Anne Cebula, women’s epee (Columbia).
• Maia Chamberlain, women’s saber (Princeton).*
• Miles Chamley-Watson, men’s foil (Penn State).*
• Eli Dershwitz, men’s saber (Harvard).
• Filip Dolegiewicz, men’s saber (Harvard).*
• Jackie Dubrovich, women’s foil (Columbia).
• Margherita Guzzi Vincenti, women’s epee (Penn State).
• Colin Heathcock, men’s saber (Harvard commit).
• Kat Holmes, women’s epee (Princeton).*
• Hadley Husisian, women’s epee (Princeton).
• Nick Itkin, men’s foil (Notre Dame).
• Lee Kiefer, women’s foil (Notre Dame).
• Alexander Massialas, men’s foil (Stanford).
• Gerek Meinhardt, men’s foil (Notre Dame).
• Tatiana Nazlymov, women’s saber (Princeton).
• Mitchell Saron, men’s saber (Harvard).
• Lauren Scruggs, women’s foil (Harvard).
• Magda Skarbonkiewicz, women’s saber (Notre Dame commit).
• Elizabeth Tartakovsky, women’s saber (Harvard).
• Maia Weintraub, women’s foil (Princeton).*

*Alternate.

NCAA connections

The Team USA fencers have had enormous success at the NCAA level, as 12 of these fencers have a combined 19 individual NCAA titles.

Kiefer, a participant in foil at this year’s Games, leads the team with four individual titles from her collegiate career at Notre Dame. Meinhardt, Massialas, Itkin and Dershwitz each have a pair of individual NCAA championships.

Cebula, Chamberlain, Dolegiewicz, Guzzi Vincenti, Scruggs, Tartakovsky and Weintraub each have one NCAA title.

In terms of conference representation, 13 Team USA fencers (including alternates) competed or will compete for Ivy League schools, led by Harvard with six. All four members of the men’s saber squad come from Harvard, including three graduates plus Colin Heathcock, who has committed to attend Harvard this fall.

Olympic experience

Twelve of this year’s team members will be competing at their first Games. Of the remaining eight with previous Olympic experience, half have medaled.

At the top of the career medal count is Massialas, who finished with hardware in 2012, 2016 and 2020, earning a silver and two bronze medals. Meinhardt isn’t far behind, grabbing two bronze medals over four Games. Kiefer is the only member of this year’s team with a gold medal, which she won in Tokyo. Itkin also received a medal in the most recent Games, winning bronze.

Tune in

Here is Team USA’s Olympic fencing schedule. View the broadcast schedule for fencing here.

• Saturday, July 27 — women’s epee (individual), men’s saber (individual).
• Sunday, July 28 — women’s foil (individual).
• Monday, July 29 — women’s saber (individual), men’s foil (individual).
• Tuesday, July 30 — women’s epee (team).
• Wednesday, July 31 — men’s saber (team).
• Thursday, Aug. 1 — women’s foil (team).
• Saturday, Aug. 3 — women’s saber (team).
• Sunday, Aug. 4 — men’s foil (team).