Freshmen Shine At Coach Nikki Franke Classic

Saturday, October 25

Philadelphia, PA

8:00 A.M. EST

North Carolina

Coach Nikki Franke Classic

Matt Jednak, huddle
University of North Carolina Fencing v Air Force
Beguinet Classic
Wilson Recreation Center
Durham, NC
Saturday, February 8, 2025

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

October 25, 2025 | Fencing

PHILADELPHIA - The freshmen led the way for the women's team at the Nikki Franke Classic. Freshmen Samantha Maryash and Elizabeth Zigalo both finished in the top five of their respective weapons.

Women's epee had a great showing with three fencers finishing in the top ten, with two of the three being freshmen. Freshman Elizabeth Zigalo had the best finish on the day for the team, as she took fifth, taking down fencers from MIT and NYU before falling to the eventual champion Yeva Mazur, from Duke.

Freshman Kaitlyn Zanga showed out on the stripe, advancing to direct elimination as the third seed, defeating fencers from Penn State and NJIT. Zanga faced off against teammate Tatina Zafft in the round of sixteen before falling to Zafft and finishing ninth. Zafft bested a 2025 NCAA Regional Qualifier, Auprell Edwards from Temple, on her way to finishing seventh.

Katie McGillion-Moore's tenth-place finish highlighted women's foil performance on day one. McGillion-Moore took down Julianna Wu, an All-America from Johns Hopkins, in the round of 32 before falling to All-Region honoree Sophia Shen from Duke.

Sabre had four fencers advance to the sweet sixteen, and Samantha Maryash had the best finish of the tournament for the entire Tar Heel women's field. Maryash went 5-0 in the pool, earning the No. 2 seed, and advanced to the semi-finals. Maryash took down three fencers in a row, including teammate Gabriella Alfarache in the round of 16, before falling to Lydia Johnson, a fellow freshman from Boston College, 15-10.

Saturday's Results

Women's Foil

10. Katie McGillion Moore

12. Lauren Yu

16. Zhiyan Qian

20. Fiona Lee

36. Sreehitha Gandluri

Women's Epee

5. Elizabeth Zigalo

7. Tatiana Zafft

9. Kaitlyn Zanga

29. Mia Smotritsky