Notre Dame Fencing sits atop the standings after first two days of the NCAA Championships

After the first two days of the NCAA Fencing Championships held in State College, Pennsylvania, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are sitting atop the standings thanks to two individual national championships and a national runner-up.

Freshman Luke Linder took the championship in the sabre — the first for Notre Dame in 21 years — by defeating fellow Irish fencer Jared Smith in the finals.

Irish sophomore Marcello Olivares claimed the other national championship in the foil by also defeating a teammate of his, Andrew Machovec.

Stephen Ewart contributed to the team point total with a runner-up finish in the epee. Ewart was defeated in the finals by Ryan Griffiths with the Penn State Nittany Lions.

All eyes now turn to the women over the next two days. Since 1990, the NCAA Fencing Championship has been a coed event. Notre Dame has won 6 national championships since then, which is second only to Penn State with an incredible 13. Before the men and women merged, Notre Dame’s men’s team won three team titles, while the women’s team won a single championship in 1987.

I’m not going to pretend that I have ANY idea about what goes on in the sport of fencing — but swords are badass and have been that way since you were like two years old — so maybe pay attention and have a great time watching these student athletes try to bring home another national title to South Bend.

A live feed of the semifinal and final bouts will be available on ESPN3 or the WatchESPN App beginning at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.