NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Notre Dame, IND, March 31, 2026: When Samarth (Sam) Kumbla stepped onto the strip for the NCAA men’s foil final, he was not just fencing for a national title. He was carrying years of disciplined training, international experience, and the hopes of a team that had battled its way to the final day of competition.
Kumbla’s victory is a significant milestone and adds to the growing presence of Indian American athletes in U.S. collegiate sports.
The Columbia University junior rose to the occasion, defeating defending champion Chase Emmer of Notre Dame 15-8 to capture the NCAA men’s foil championship and etch his name into the program’s history as its 31st individual NCAA champion.
The final bout reflected Kumbla’s composure under pressure. He surged to an early 7-2 lead before Emmer mounted a brief comeback with four consecutive touches. Kumbla steadied himself, responding with a decisive 6-1 run to close out the match.
The road to the title was equally dramatic. Entering the direct elimination rounds as the No. 3 seed after going 15-8 in preliminary bouts, Kumbla faced teammate Marsel Nagimov in the semifinal. Locked at 14-14, the bout came down to a single touch. Kumbla delivered it cleanly, advancing to the final in one of the most tightly contested matches of the day.
“I’m so happy, especially having my entire team here,” Kumbla said in a post-match interview on ESPN+. “To be able to bring this title home and see them just as excited as I am means the world to me. I have an amazing team, coaches, my parents and my brother. This is everything I could have asked for in a fencing career.”
Columbia head coach Michael Aufrichtig, speaking in a statement released by the program, said Kumbla’s win was the result of years of hard work. “He works so hard and is deserving of having this moment,” Aufrichtig said. “The team continued to battle, and I could not be prouder of the way they finished.”
Columbia finished second overall with 81 victories, behind host Notre Dame’s 91. The Lions had a strong showing across events, with Nagimov (foil) and Will Morrill (sabre) both earning third-place finishes and First Team All-America honors, while sophomore Zeyad Nofal placed ninth.
For Kumbla, the title represents the culmination of a journey that began far from the NCAA stage. He started fencing at the age of nine at the Silicon Valley Fencing Center, inspired by his older brother, Sidarth, and trained under coaches Aleksei Murugin and Yulia Murugin. After competing in local and national tournaments from 2014 onward, he began to stand out as a serious contender during his high school years.
Since arriving at Columbia in 2023 as a computer science major, Kumbla has steadily climbed the collegiate ranks. He won Ivy League titles in 2024 and 2025, finished third at the NCAA Championships in 2024 and fifth in 2025, before reaching the top of the podium this year.
His success extends well beyond college fencing. Representing Team USA, Kumbla was ranked No. 1 in the world in the U-19 category in 2024 and has claimed gold medals at the Istanbul Junior World Cup in 2023 and the Sabadell World Cup in Spain in 2024. He also earned bronze medals at the World Championships in 2023 and 2024.
Domestically, he has recorded multiple podium finishes at North American Cup events, including Division I and junior titles, establishing himself as one of the country’s most consistent performers in the sport.
With his NCAA victory, Kumbla has not only delivered a defining moment for Columbia but also signaled the arrival of a new generation of Indian American athletes making their mark in elite collegiate competition.
