No. 10/13 Fencing Closes Out Day One Of Elite Invitational

Saturday, November 8

Columbus, OH

9:00 A.M. EST

North Carolina

Elite Duals

Fiona Lee
foil
University of North Carolina Fencing v Duke
Blue Zone
Chapel Hill, NC
November 1, 2025

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

November 8, 2025 | Fencing

COLUMBUS, OH - No. 10/13 Fencing wraps up day one at the Elite Invitational with team, weapon group, and individual success.

The men's team went 3-1 while the women's team went 3-2. Fencing combined 3 perfect weapon group performances and swept their opponents 18 individual times. The men's team ended the day strong, winning three in a row.

Carolina opened the elite invitational, taking on one of the best teams in the country, No. 3 Harvard. Men's epee notched an incredible 6-3 record behind the efforts of Shekar Jayendra and Brayden Gyure. Jayendra posted a perfect 3-0 record in his season debut, besting two-time first-team All-America honoree Henry Lawson 5-1. Gyure and Jayendra both beat Nicholas Zhang, another All-America. Nicky Wind and Dangy Johnson both posted winning records for their respective sabre squads, going 2-1.

The women's team bounced back against the No. 3 team in Division III, Denison winning 19-8. The women's squad was led by epee, earning an 8-1 record split between six fencers, with five of them winning at least one bout. Fiona Lee stood out in foil, where she went 3-0, with the group going 7-2. Both Gabriella Alfarache and Jana Mohamed contributed two wins, as all weapon groups achieved winning records.

Women's sabre and men's foil both posted immaculate performances against Wayne State, going 9-0 as the men won 22-5 while the women won 18-9. Yanni Tsimiklis had his first 3-0 round of his career while Peter Bruk notched his first 3-0 of the season. Gabriella Alfarache picked up her first sweep of the season and the fourth of her career.

The men's team notched a second immaculate performance from one of the weapon groups. Men's sabre (Atanassov, Wind, Wood) went 9-0 against the Cleveland State Vikings as they won 23-4. Bruk picked up his second straight 3-0 sweep. The women bested the Vikings 22-5. Foilist Sreehitha Gandluri earned her first career sweep. Alfarache swept the Vikings, going 3-0 for the second match in a row.

Carolina fell to No. 5 Northwestern 17-10, but women's sabre had a great showing as Dagny Johnson and Samantha Maryash both went 3-0. The men ended the day with a 16-11 victory over Air Force. Bruk, Porras, and Wood brought home nine wins combined with their sweeps.

Fencing returns to the strip at 9:30 a.m. to fence against No. 7 Penn and No. 5/6 Ohio State.

RESULTS

No. 3 Harvard def No. 10 North Carolina: 10-17

Men's Foil: 0-9