University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
ACC Championships
Bruk & Shamel Win Individual ACC Championships
February 21, 2026 | Fencing
DURHAM, N.C.- For the first time since 1976, men's fencing won two individual men's titles at the Atlantic Coast Conference. Peter Bruk (Foil) and Youssef Shamel (Epee) both won individual ACC Championships. Elden Wood finished as the sabre runner-up.
When this impressive feat last occurred for Carolina, AJ Keane won the first of his two men's sabre titles, and Alan Knight won his title in men's epee.
Youssef Shamel capped off a stunning freshman campaign by capturing the 2026 Men's Epee Individual ACC Champion title. In the first round, Shamel faced off against Boston College's Daniel Gao and won by six points. The final four matchup pitted Shamel against his teammate, Boris Muga. Shamel again won by six points. The freshman faced off against Kruz Schembri, an Olympian from Notre Dame, for the ACC title. Shamel took Schembri down 15-10 in the final bout, giving Carolina back-to-back men's epee titles.
Peter Bruk put on a show in men's foil, taking down the former ACC Champion from Notre Dame by eight. Dominic Joseph. Bruk beat his second fencer from Notre Dame, Nick Rusadze, to advance to the finals. For the gold medal, Bruk came out on top in a tight 15-13 win against two-time All-America honoree James Chen. Bruk came away with the 2026 Men's Foil Individual ACC Champion title, which gave Carolina its first ACC individual foil champion since 1975.
Senior Elden Wood earned the 8th and outperformed his seeding, notching multiple upsets on his way to the gold medal bout. In a thrilling run, he took down the 1st and 4th seeds to advance to the final round, where he finished as the runner-up in men's sabre.
Junior Boris Muga had a strong showing in epee pools, earning him the top seed for Carolina. going into eliminations. Muga won his first bout 15-13 against Giulio Pech from Duke. He fell to his teammate, Shamel, in the semi-finals. Muga finished fourth overall in men's epee.
Men's Individual Results
Men's Epee
1st: Youssef Shamel
4th: Boris Muga
9th: Brayden Gyure
T-14: Maximo Zafft
Men's Foil
1st: Peter Bruk
6th: Cristian Porras
12th: Nick Baumstein
17th: Ivan Radoslavov
Men's Sabre
2nd: Elden Wood
7th: Vasko Atanassov
17th: John Lin
18th: Nicky Wind
Women's Team Competition
The women's team finished fourth in the team competition. The strength of this year's competition was with the epee squad. The weapon group came out with a winning record in every single match.
The women's team opened up against Boston College, who kept the match close the entire time as it was tied 11-11 heading into the final five bouts. Carolina won four of the last five, including an epee, closing out their weapon group wins with two straight wins. Freshman Fiona Lee came in clutch in her ACC Championships debut. She held off her Boston College opponent to clinch the win 5-2 and win the first round as a whole. Both foil and epee emerged victorious in their respective weapon groups.
The women's team fell to eventual champions Notre Dame in the second round. Women's epee highlighted the round as they won four bouts. Tatiana Zafft won two bouts against the number two team in the country.
Carolina fell in a very close 15-12 loss to Duke. Epee went 8-1. Zafft and Elizabeth Zigalo both went 3-0 against the Blue Devils.
Women's epee had another great showing against the Stanford Cardinal, posting a 7-2 record. Zafft notched her second 3-0 performance of the championships against the Cardinals.
Women's Team Results
#3 UNC def #5 Boston College 15-12
Sabre 4-5
Foil: 5-4
Epee: 6-3
#1 Notre Dame def #3 UNC 21-6
Sabre: 0-9
Foil: 1-8
Epee: 5-4
#2 Duke def #3 UNC 15-12
Sabre: 3-6
Foil: 1-8
Epee:8-1
#4 Stanford def #3 UNC: 16-11
Sabre: 3-6
Foil: 1-8
Epee: 7-2
The final day of the ACC Championships is Sunday, February 22. The women's individual championship will start at 8:00 a.m. EST then the men will compete for the team title.
Players Mentioned
