Carolina Puts All The Pieces Together For 9-1 Day

Saturday, January 18

Philadelphia, Pa.

8:00 AM

North Carolina

Philadelphia Invitational Duals

(Photo by Justine de Grasse)

January 18, 2020 | Fencing

By: UNC Athletic Communications

The UNC fencing team turned in an overall record of 9-1 at the Philadelphia Invitational on Saturday with the women's team finishing 5-0 and the men 4-1.

"Today was a day when the team as a whole was clicking and putting into competition the things we've been working on in practice," UNC coach Matt Jednak said. "We've seen flashes of this from the weapon squads and from individuals, but today it all came together for a great collective result."

The Tar Heels faced the men's and women's teams from Sacred Heart, NJIT and Lafayette. The UNC men also took on NYU and Johns Hopkins while the Carolina women faced Fairleigh Dickinson and Wagner. Jednak complimented his team's ability to stay focused throughout the day, regardless of the opponent it was facing. "We went in with a simple game plan that we wanted to execute throughout the day and I felt like we did that," he said. "People are understanding more about their responsibilities to their teammates and to each other and as a result we're getting stronger."

Some of the highlights by weapon:
Women's Epee: The entire squad finished the day with a winning record, highlighted by sophomore Charlotte Summers at 8-2 and freshman Darby Haskel at 7-3.
Women's Foil: The squad was 21-6 overall, with undefeated days from senior Wei Chee Chen (6-0), sophomore Aubrey Molloy (4-0) and freshman Sophia Mandour (4-0).
Women's Sabre: Junior Clara Somfelean, sophomore Bridget Becchina and freshman Abigale Parker all finished the day 4-1.
Men's epee: Junior Joe Taylor had a standout day, going 8-1. Andrew Fulmer, also a junior, finished 7-3.
Men's foil: Freshman Connor Head went 7-2, sophomore James Mulligan 5-2 and sophomore Anders Hartmark 4-1.
Men's sabre: Junior Firoz George went 9-3 and junior Bernard Witek was 8-4.

The Tar Heels don't compete again until the Northwestern Dual Meets on Feb. 1-2, giving the team time to improve while continuing to heal injuries and illnesses that have plagued the team in recent weeks.

"No one is going to get everyone healthy, but we're going to try to get everyone closer to healthy," Jednak said. "We'll also watch film and pick apart some tactics. We'll make sure we're identifying trends we need to work on as a team."

Philadelphia Invitational
Jan. 18, 2020

ROUND 1: Bye

ROUND 2:
UNC vs. Sacred Heart
Men: UNC 19, Sacred Heart 8
Foil: UNC 6-3
Epee: UNC 5-4
Sabre: UNC 8-1
Women: UNC 22, Sacred Heart 5
Foil: UNC 8-1
Epee: UNC 7-2
Sabre: UNC 7-2

ROUND 3:
Men: UNC 14, NYU 13 vs NYU
Foil: NYU 6-3
Epee: UNC 5-4
Sabre: UNC 6-3
Women: UNC 17, Fairleigh Dickinson 10
Foil: UNC 5-4
Epee: FDU 5-4
Sabre: UNC 8-1

ROUND 4:
UNC vs. NJIT
Men: NJIT 15, UNC 12
Foil: NJIT 6-2
Epee: NJIT 5-4
Sabre: UNC 5-4
Women: UNC 20, NJIT 7
Foil: UNC 8-1
Epee: UNC 7-2
Sabre: UNC 5-4

ROUND 5:
UNC vs. Lafayette
Men: UNC 24, Lafayette 3
Foil: UNC 9-0
Epee: UNC 9-0
Sabre: UNC 6-3
Women: UNC 20, Lafayette 7
Foil: UNC 9-0
Epee: UNC 7-2
Sabre: Lafayette 5-4

ROUND 6:
Men: UNC 19, Johns Hopkins 8
Foil: UNC 7-2
Epee: UNC 8-1
Sabre: JHU 5-4
Women: UNC 21, Wagner 6
Foil: UNC 9-0
Epee: UNC 7-2
Sabre: Wagner 5-4