UNC Dominates Day Two Of Philly Invitational

Saturday, January 22

Philadelphia, Pa.

All Day

North Carolina

Philadelphia Invitational

January 23, 2022 | Fencing

Philadelphia, Pa. The North Carolina fencing team competed in the second day of the Philadelphia Invitational on Saturday at the University of Pennsylvania. The men's and women's competed against a total of seven opponents ranked in the top 25.

The men's team finished with a perfect 5-0 record on the day to extend their winning streak to seven over the two-day event. The 15th ranked Tar Heels pulled off impressive wins in their first three matches of the day, defeating No. 14 Sacred Heart, No. 11 NYU and No. 20 Penn.

Carolina finished off the day with a 22-5 win over Lafayette College and an 18-9 win over Haverford, who they beat for the second time in two weeks.

The women's team went 3-2 on a day that saw them face two top-ten opponents. After beating Sacred Heart, 22-5, and later a earn a close win against No. 22 NYU, the No. 24 Tar Heels fell to No. 8 Penn, 18-9.

Carolina went on to beat Lafayette, 23-4, before falling to undefeated and fourth ranked Cornell, 21-6.

The Tar Heels were able to bounce back after an underwhelming performance at the Penn State Duals last weekend where the team had a combined record of 4-12. After watching his team turn things around and finish this weekend with a 12-4 record, head coach Matt Jednak said that the two weekends couldn't have been more different.

"Last weekend threw us a lot of curve balls. With the weather, teams dropping out because of COVID, and other things, we weren't focused enough to be ready to go. This weekend we knew what we were getting into. Everyone was ready and able to step into their role and execute," Jednak said.

Jednak attributes much of the team's success this weekend to the team's communication and comradery that they have built through the fall season and practices. While fencing is an individual sport on the mats, the power of the team cannot be underappreciated.

"Our team leaders don't wear name tags or badges. We even had some first-year athletes helping to be there emotionally and tactically just saying the right things. The whole team was just present when they needed to be. They were just there for each other which I think is big," Jednak said.

Xavier Hilbert was one of the standout performers for the Tar Heels, going 9-3 against some of the nation's best in men's epee. The sophomore went 2-1 in his bouts against No. 7 Princeton and a perfect 3-0 against NYU. Sophomore Noah Shepanek also had a stellar weekend for Carolina in men's sabre, going 11-4 in his bouts.

On the women's side, sophomore Sofia Molho was a standout performer in foil, going 16-7 this weekend. Freshman Isabella Summers put together a strong performance in epee, going 15-8 in all bouts.

The Tar Heels will return to action on February 5 at the Northwestern Duals.

Results
Philadelphia Invitational Day Two

Round One
Men
#15 UNC vs #14 Sacred Heart
Sabre: 8-1 UNC
Foil: 5-4 SHU
Epee: 5-4 UNC
Final: 17-10 UNC

Women
#24 UNC vs Sacred Heart
Sabre: 8-1 UNC
Foil: 6-3 UNC
Epee: 8-1 UNC
Final: 22-5 UNC

Round Two
Men
#15 UNC vs #11 NYU
Sabre: 5-4 UNC
Foil: 6-3 NYU
Epee: 7-2 UNC
Final: 15-12 UNC

Women
#24 UNC vs #22 NYU
Sabre: 5-4 UNC
Foil: 5-4 NYU
Epee: 7-2 UNC
Final: 16-11 UNC

Round Three
Men
#15 UNC vs #20 Penn
Sabre: 5-4 Penn
Foil: 5-4 UNC
Epee: 7-2 UNC
Final: 16-11 UNC

Women
#24 UNC vs #8 Penn
Sabre: 5-4 UNC
Foil: 5-4 Penn
Epee: 9-0 Penn
Final: 18-9 Penn

Round Four
Men
#15 UNC vs Lafayette
Sabre: 8-1 UNC
Foil: 8-1 UNC
Epee: 6-3 UNC
Final: 22-5 UNC

Women
#24 UNC vs Lafayette
Sabre: 7-2 UNC
Foil: 8-1 UNC
Epee: 8-1 UNC
Final: 23-4 UNC

Round Five
Men
#15 UNC vs #22 Haverford
Sabre: 7-2 UNC
Foil: 6-3 UNC
Epee: 7-2 UNC
Final 18-9 UNC

Women
#24 UNC vs #4 Cornell
Sabre: 7-2 Cornell
Foil: 6-3 Cornell
Epee: 8-1 Cornell
Final: 21-6 Cornell