Fencing Competes At Penn State Duals

Sunday, January 16

University Park, Pa.

All Day

North Carolina

Penn State Duals

Aubrey Molloy
ACC Championship
University of North Carolina Fencing
Carmichael Arena
Chapel Hill, NC
Sunday, February 28, 2021

Photo by: UNC Athletic Communications

January 17, 2022 | Fencing

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The North Carolina fencing team kicked off the spring season at the Penn State Duals on Sunday. The 14th ranked men's team and the 25th ranked women's team started the season in full force, facing some of the nation's top-ranked programs.

The men faced off against four teams ranked in the top 25 by the US Fencing Coaches Association, two of which were ranked in the top five. The women's team also saw some top competition this weekend, fencing against two top ten programs. The Tar Heels were also scheduled to fence against nationally-ranked Yale, but the Bulldogs had to back out due to complications concerning COVID-19.

The Tar Heels finished the weekend 2-6 across the board, with the men's and women's teams both coming in at 1-3. The Tar Heels were just points away from defeating UPenn in their opening match and fell to highly ranked Penn State and Columbia.

"We need to continue to have confidence in what we are doing and continue to play our game. We can't think of it as having to go through another team, we have to think of it as them going through us," UNC coach Matt Jednak said.

Both the men and the women saw the most success against Haverford, both winning by double digits. The Tar Heels were especially dominant against Haverford in Epee, going a perfect 18-0.

"Whatever team can adapt better on the fly will end up winning more matches. We need to continue to believe in our training and that the process is strong," said Coach Jednak.

Senior captain Aubrey Molloy was a standout performer for the Tar Heels on Sunday, going 7-2 in her bouts. Molloy was a perfect 2-0 against #11 Penn State and 3-0 against Haverford. On the men's side, sophomore Xavier Hilbert went 2-1 against #5 Penn State and finished the day at 6-6.

"Our team did a great job supporting each other especially when we got down. The team was always there to give feedback and encouragement, understanding that they are not alone but in this as a group," said Jednak.

Team unity and creating a culture of teamwork is something that Coach Jednak and the best of the Tar Heels coaching staff have been trying hard to instill into their program all season. After a short week of practice and a few minor adjustments, the Tar Heels will travel back to Pennsylvania to fence at Temple on Friday night and at UPenn Saturday Morning.

Results

Round 1
Men
#20 Penn vs #14 UNC
Sabre: 6-3 Penn
Foil: 6-3 UNC
Epee: 6-3: Penn
Final: 15-12 Penn

Women
#8 Penn vs #25 UNC
Sabre: 7-2 UNC
Foil: 5-4 Penn
Epee: 7-2 Penn
Final: 14-13 Penn

Round 2
Bye

Round 3
Men
#14 UNC vs #23 Haverford
Sabre: 6-3 UNC
Foil: 9-0 UNC
Epee: 9-0 UNC
Final: 24-2 UNC

Women
#25 UNC vs Haverford
Sabre: 8-1 UNC
Foil: 8-1 UNC
Epee: 9-0 UNC
Final: 25-2 UNC

Round 4
Men
#5 Penn State vs #14 UNC
Sabre: 6-3 PSU
Foil: 7-2 PSU
Epee: 7-2 PSU
Final: 20-7 PSU

Women
#11 Penn State vs #25 UNC
Sabre: 5-3 PSU
Foil: 6-3 PSU
Epee: 6-3 PSU
Final: 17-10 PSU

Round 5
Men
#2 Columbia 21 vs #14 UNC 6
Sabre: 8-1 Columbia
Foil: 7-3 Columbia
Epee: 6-3 Columbia
Final: 21-6 Columbia

Women
#3 Columbia 19, #25 UNC 8
Sabre: 7-2 Columbia
Foil: 5-4 Columbia
Epee: 7-2 Columbia