National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Fencing Championships

Dates and site: The championships are March 16-19 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Houston.

Field: The field of 144 competitors is determined through regional qualifying.

Selection date: March 7.

2005 team champion: Notre Dame.

Top team contenders: Notre Dame, Penn State, Ohio State, Columbia.

Championships notes: Notre Dame’s men’s and women’s teams have combined for a 58-2 record this season ... Entering this season, Penn State coach Emmanuil Kaidanov had led the men to a 306-21 record in dual meets (94 percent) and the women to a  296-23-1 mark (93 percent). ... Ohio State’s men’s team is 22-0 ... Columbia has captured 10 Northeast regional crowns, 12 Ivy Group men’s championships, and four Ivy women’s championships since George Kolombatovich has been coach.

National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Rifle Championships

Dates and sites: The individual and team championships for smallbore will be March 10 and the individual and team championships for air rifle are March 11 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. 

Field: A maximum of 48 competitors will be selected for the championships. The top eight or fewer teams in combined smallbore and air rifle will qualify.

Selection date: February 21.

2005 team champion: Army.

Top team contenders: Alaska Fairbanks, Nebraska, Kentucky, Army, Navy.

Championships notes: Army became just the second school in rifle championships history to claim the national title by a one-point margin when the Black Knights edged then-defending national champion Alaska Fairbanks, 4,659-4,658. Army served as the host in 1985 when Murray State defeated West Virginia, 6,150-6,149 ... After having its string of six straight national titles broken by Army, Alaska Fairbanks has recovered to register a perfect season through mid-February. Leading the Nanooks are 2003 air rifle individual champion Jamie Beyerle and two-time smallbore individual champion Matthew Rawlings, who also are members of the U.S. National Team ... Like Alaska Fairbanks, Nebraska also is aiming for a perfect season. The Cornhuskers are not only seeking their first national championship, but also their first individual champion in program history.

National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Skiing Championships

Dates and sites: Regional qualifications were held February 18 through 26 at three sites: the Michigan Tech Nordic Training and Race Center, the Middlebury Ski Bowl Touring Center and the Auburn Ski Club/Sugar Bowl Ski Resort. The championships are March 8-11 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Field: The field includes 148 competitors — 74 men and 74 women.

Selection date: February 28.

2005 team champion: Denver.

Top team contenders: Denver, Colorado, Vermont, Dartmouth.

Championships notes: Denver won last year’s title, marking the 11th straight championship for a team in the Western region of the country ... Colorado is the host institution for the 2006 championships ... Vermont’s women took four of the top six places at the Williams Ski Carnival in Hancock, Massachusetts, February 18 ... Fourteen current, past or future members of the Dartmouth squad competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics.