Fencing Bringing Momentum To ACC Championships

Saturday, February 21

Durham, N.C.

8:00 A.M. EST

North Carolina

ACC Championships

Katie McGillion-Moore Celebrates Win At Miller Invitational

Photo by: Michael Golamco

February 20, 2026 | Fencing

By: Abi Fortner

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Carolina fencing finished the regular season on a high note at as the team combined for a 9-1 record at Miller Invitational and Beignet Classic. The team rounded out a campaign filled with ranked wins and steady improvement across all three weapons. They head to Durham for their first postseason test at the 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships on February 21-22. With both the women's and men's squads building momentum and depth at the right moment, Carolina enters championship weekend positioned to contend in both individual and team competition.

The two-day event starts with at 8:00 a.m. EST with the individual pool rounds then the individual semifinals start at 11:30 a.m. EST and will be streamed on ACCNX.

Regular Season Recap: Head coach Matt Jednak notched 200^th career regular season win during the Brian Palestis Memorial with a win against No. 13 St. John's by the women's team. The women closed out the regular season on a 13-1 record as a team including five ranked wins.

The men's team also had a great regular season highlighted by a season sweep of No. 10 Penn State and Youseff Shamel was named the ACC Men's Fencer of the week (Feb 11) after his second time competing for the Tar Heels.

Fans can follow along with live stats for Individuals and Teams

ACC Championship Broadcast Schedule
Saturday, Feb. 21
11:30 a.m. – Men's Individual Event
2:45 p.m. – Women's Team Event

Sunday, Feb. 22
11:30 a.m. – Women's Individual Event
2:45 p.m. – Men's Team Event
Seeding

Men's
#1 – Notre Dame
#2 – Boston College
#3 – North Carolina
#4 – Duke
#5 - Stanford

Women's
#1 – Notre Dame
#2 – Duke
#3 – North Carolina
#4 – Stanford
#5 – Boston College

Per ACC policy, teams will be seeded using SPI rankings as published on the Monday prior to the Championships. The 3 highest SPI values in each weapon (total of 9 SPI values) will be combined to create each team's seeding value.

Attached are the SPI values that determined the men's and women's seeds.

Saturday Men's Individual Championship Schedule
8:00 AM - Individual Round Robin Begins
11:30 AM - Individual Semifinal Bouts
NOON - Individual Championship Bouts
(in the order of epee, foil and sabre)
1:00 PM - Individual Awards

Saturday Women's Team Championship Schedule
1:30 PM Round #1 - #4 Stanford vs. #2 Duke (strips 1, 2, 3) ---- #5 BC vs. #1 Notre Dame (strips 4, 5, 6)
2:45 PM Round #2 - #3 UNC vs. #5 BC (strips 1, 2, 3) ---- #1 Notre Dame vs. #4 Stanford (strips 4, 5, 6)
4:00 PM Round #3 - #3 UNC vs. #1 Notre Dame (strips 1,2,3) ---- #2 Duke vs. #5 BC (strips 4,5,6)
5:15 PM Round #4 - #5 BC vs. #4 Stanford (strips 1,2,3) ---- #2 Duke vs. #3 UNC (strips 4,5,6)
6:30 PM Round #5 - #1 Notre Dame vs. #2 Duke (strips 1,2,3) ---- #4 Stanford vs. #3 UNC (strips 4,5,6)

Sunday Women's Individual Championship Schedule
8:00 AM - Individual Round Robin Begins
11:30 AM - Individual Semifinal Bouts
NOON - Individual Championship Bouts
(in the order of epee, foil and sabre)
1:00 PM - Individual Awards

Sunday Men's Team Championship Schedule
1:30 PM Round #1 - #4 Duke vs. #2 BC (strips 1, 2, 3) ---- #5 Stanford vs. #1 Notre Dame (strips 4, 5, 6)
2:45 PM Round #2 - #3 UNC vs. #5 Stanford (strips 1, 2, 3) ---- #1 Notre Dame vs. #4 Duke (strips 4, 5, 6)
4:00 PM Round #3 - #3 UNC vs. #1 Notre Dame (strips 1,2,3) ---- #2 BC vs. #5 Stanford (strips 4,5,6)
5:15 PM Round #4 - #5 Stanford vs. #4 Duke (strips 1,2,3) ---- #2 BC vs. #3 UNC (strips 4,5,6)
6:30 PM Round #5 - #1 Notre Dame vs. #2 BC (strips 1,2,3) ---- #4 Duke vs. #3 UNC (strips 4,5,6)