ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell women's fencing will send four student-athletes to the 2026 NC Fencing Championships, set for March 19-20 at the Castellan Family Fencing Center in Notre Dame, Ind. Senior Ketki Ketkar (épée), junior Isabela Carvalho (saber), junior Samantha Marsee (saber) and freshman Lana Lee (foil) will represent the Big Red among a field of 144 competitors from 26 institutions.
 
Ketkar enters the national championships as the Ivy League individual épée champion, having gone 10-1 in the round of 12 at the NCAA Northeast Regional at Vassar to earn a silver medal. She carries a 51-16 overall record and an .857 winning percentage in Ivy competition.
 
Carvalho and Marsee earned their NCAA bids as part of a historic saber performance at the Northeast Regional, where Cornell placed four fencers in the finals — the first time the program has accomplished that feat in any weapon. Marsee took bronze with a 7-4 round-of-12 record and enters nationals at 32-20 overall. Carvalho finished fourth with a 42-22 record (.656 winning percentage).
 
Lee paces Cornell's foil contingent with a 69-41 overall record on the season.
 
The women's championships feature individual events in three weapons — women's épée, women's foil and women's sabre. Competitors fence in a round-robin format of five-touch bouts, with the top four finishers in each weapon advancing to 15-touch semifinals. Team standings are determined by points earned throughout round-robin competition.