University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Western Invitational
Fencing Competes At Western Invitational
November 8, 2022 | Fencing
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The North Carolina fencing team competed in their first dual meets of the season this weekend at the Western Invitational. The men's team finished the weekend with a record of 4-4, and the women at 3-5.
The No. 14 ranked women started out on Saturday going 3-2, defeating UC San Diego, Incarnate Word, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The Heels were defeated by No. 4 Harvard and Northwestern. On Sunday, the Heels had to face No. 3 Columbia and No. 5 Ohio State in the first two rounds. An injury to Isabella Summers left the women's epee squad short-handed in the final round against Stanford, contributing to the 17-10 loss.
The men's team began Saturday with a 14-13 statement win over No. 12 UC San Diego. The remainder of Saturday saw them knock off Incarnate Word and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and fall to No. 4 Harvard and the hosts, Air Force. The Heels were nearly able to pull off the upset of the season in the second round on Sunday but fell just one point short of beating No. 3 Ohio State, losing 14-13. Sunday also saw Carolina lose to No. 2 Columbia and defeat Stanford.
The standouts of the weekend for the Heels were men's epee's Xavier Hilbert and Nicky Wind of men's sabre. Hilbert shined against some of the nation's best, going 3-0 against No. 3 Ohio State and 2-1 against No. 2 Columbia. Hilbert's three wins against the Buckeyes were the driving force behind the Heels 6-3 win in men's epee. Freshman Nicky Wind earned more wins than any other Tar Heel this weekend, finishing with a record of 13-2 in his dual meet debut. Wind began the weekend with nine straight wins. The freshman also had a winning record against top-three opponents Ohio State and Columbia, going 2-1 against both.
The Tar Heels will have one weekend off before returning to action on November 19th at the Elite Invitational Duals hosted by the University of Pennsylvania.
Results
Day One
Women
Round One: UNC 16 - UCSD 11
Round Two: UNC 7 - Harvard 20
Round Three: Bye
Round Four: UNC 11 - UIW 10
Round Five: UNC 17 - NJIT 10
Round Six: UNC 12 - Northwestern 15
Men
Round One: UNC 14 - UCSD 13
Round Two: UNC 5 - Harvard 22
Round Three: UNC 13 - Air Force 14
Round Four: UNC 21 - UIW 6
Round Five: UNC 18 - NJIT 9
Day Two
Women
Round One: UNC 5 - Columbia 22
Round Two: UNC 5 - Ohio State 22
Round Three: UNC 10 - Stanford 17
Men
Round One: UNC 7 - Columbia 20
Round Two: UNC 13 - Ohio State 14
Round Three: UNC 14 - Stanford 13
