Tar Heels Wrap Up Busy Weekend At Ohio State

Sunday, February 7

Columbus, Ohio

1:30 PM

North Carolina

OSU Invitational

Freshman Tarleton Hunt was among the standouts for UNC at the season-opening OSU Invitational.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

February 7, 2021 | Fencing

By: UNC Athletic Communications

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Tar Heel men's and women's fencing teams capped a busy weekend on Sunday with three meets each at the OSU Invitational. The Tar Heel men went 2-1 and the women went 1-2 to wrap up the two-day event.

Overall, the men were 3-3 and the women were 2-4.

"They were so excited for the opportunity to compete," UNC coach Matt Jednak said of his team's first competition of the season. "It wasn't about the wins, per se, but about being able to get back to some normalcy."

The Tar Heels competed throughout the day on Saturday then in the afternoon on Sunday.
It was the first competition in almost a year for any of the Tar Heels. "You could almost see the rust being shaken off as the weekend went on," Jednak said.

Both squads opened Sunday against the host Buckeyes for the second day in a row. The men fell 17-10 and the women 18-9.

The UNC women then faced Northwestern for the second time. After beating the Wildcats 16-11 on Saturday, the Tar Heels fell 17-10 on Sunday.

The Tar Heel teams both closed out the day with wins against Wayne State. The Tar Heel men faced off with the Warriors twice, winning 20-7 and 19-8.

The women faced Wayne State to finish the day, winning 25-2.

Among the standout individual performances on the weekend, freshman Tarleton Hunt went 10-5 in her first collegiate foil competition. In epee, another first-year Tar Heel, Allegra Parker, went 9-5 overall, including 5-1 on Sunday. On the men's side, freshman Reza Merchant went 6-3 in epee.

Among veterans, junior Beni Rabinowitz went 8-4 in men's sabre and junior Aubrey Molloy was 9-6 in women's foil.

"The first years on the team got a taste of what it's like to compete in a college meet and what it actually means to be representing UNC," Jednak said. "The returners were able to show experience and leadership. There was a lot of great peer support this weekend, and they did a good job of being there for each other."

The next event on the Tar Heel schedule at this point is the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, which UNC will host in Chapel Hill on Feb. 27-28.

OSU Invitational
Columbus, Ohio
Day 1 – Feb. 6

Round 1
Men
Ohio State 15, UNC 12
Sabre: UNC 5-4
Foil: OSU 7-2
Epee: UNC 5-4
Women
Ohio State 16, UNC 11
Sabre: OSU 6-3
Foil: OSU 5-4
Epee: OSU 5-4

Round 2
Women
UNC 16, Northwestern 11
Sabre: UNC 5-4
Foil: NU 5-4
Epee: UNC 7-2

Round 3
Men
Penn State 17, UNC 10
Sabre: PSU 6-3
Foil: UNC 5-4
Epee: PSU 7-2
Women
Penn State 19, UNC 8
Sabre: UNC 5-4
Foil: PSU 7-2
Epee: PSU 8-1

Round 4
Men
UNC 14, Air Force 13
Sabre: UNC 6-3
Foil: AFA 6-3
Epee: UNC 5-4

Day 2 – Feb. 7
Round 10
Men
Ohio State 17, UNC 10
Sabre: OSU 6-3
Foil: OSU 5-4
Epee: OSU 6-3
Women
Ohio State 18, UNC 9
Sabre: OSU 7-2
Foil: OSU 5-4
Epee: 6-3

Round 11
Women
Northwestern 17, UNC 10
Sabre: NU 6-3
Foil: NU 7-2
Epee: UNC 5-4
Men
UNC 20, Wayne State 7
Sabre: UNC 9-0
Foil: 5-4
Epee: 6-3

Round 12
Men
UNC 19, Wayne State 8
Sabre: UNC 9-0
Foil: UNC 6-3
Epee: WSU 5-4
Women
UNC 25, Wayne State 2
Sabre: UNC 9-0
Foil: UNC 8-1
Epee: UNC 8-1