North Carolina
ACC Championships
ACC Fencing Championships Recap
February 28, 2023 | Fencing
Mandour Wins Bronze, Men Second, Women Third at ACC Championships
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - The North Carolina fencing team competed at the ACC Championships this weekend hosted at Boston College.
The individual championships took place on Saturday with the women competing in the morning and the men in the afternoon. The morning session was highlighted by Sophia Mandour and Sophia Kovacs reaching the semi-finals in foil and sabre.Â
Mandour claimed the one seed going into the foil final four, leading all competitors with a record of 11-2 in pool play. In the semi-final bout, Mandour fell to the eventual champion, Nicole Pustilnik of Notre Dame, 15-12. Mandour was able to bounce back from defeat and get a win in the bronze medal match, beating Karina Yaroshenko of Notre Dame.Â
"The medal validates the process and her game," said Head Coach Matt Jednak. "She's a two-time NCAA qualifier, only missing out one year due to COVID. She has put in a lot of work this year, and all of her years, to get to this point. She's a great athlete and a great competitor and this weekend showcases that."Â
Sophia Kovacs, who leads the Carolina women in bouts won this season, snuck into the sabre final four as the four seed. A 10-5 pool play record was just enough to earn a spot against Kara Linder of Notre Dame for a spot in the championship bout. Linder, who went on to win the final, defeated Kovacs 15-10. Kovacs fell again in the bronze medal bout, to claim fourth place.Â
Elden Wood was the only Tar Heel to reach a final four bout in the afternoon session. Wood's 11-4 pool play record secured the four seed in the semi-final against Terence Lee of Duke. Lee went on to win the back-and-forth bout 15-10. Wood was unable to win the bronze medal bout, finishing fourth.Â
In the team championships on Sunday, the women came up against Duke in the first round. Despite epee's dominant 6-3 win, Duke was able to find an advantage in foil and sabre, ultimately winning the close bout 15-12. In the second round, the Tar Heels came up against Notre Dame and fell 20-7 to the eventual champions.Â
In the third round, Carolina was able to bounce back and get a win. The Tar Heels picked up wins in all three weapon groups, defeating Boston College 18-9. Finishing the day at 1-2 meant the Tar Heels placed third in the ACC Women's Team Championships.Â
"They have the perfect competitive memory. Short term. They took the things that were working well and kept using them. Even after the scorecard wasn't going their way, they came out and fought hard. They left it all out there," said Jednak.Â
Sophia Mandour, Ali Parker, and Nicole Milewski lead all Tar Heels women in wins at the team championships, each finishing the day with a record of 6-3. Led by Milewski and Parker, women's epee was the most successful weapon for the Tar Heels, with a record of 16-11. Â
The ACC Men's Team Championships took place in the afternoon. Sabre and epee came out strong to open up round one, each winning 7-2 on the way to a 17-10 win over Boston College.Â
"I was glad we were able to jump on Boston College early, they are a great team. We were able to have a strong showing across all weapons. Everyone had to do their job, and that's exactly what they did," said Jednak.Â
The second round saw Carolina fall handly to Duke, losing 19-8. The Tar Heels met red-hot Notre Dame in the final round, losing 22-5 to the ACC Champions.Â
Even with a 1-2 record, North Carolina went home with a share of second place in the ACC Men's Team Championship. Thanks to a Boston College upset of Duke in the final round, the Blue Devils, Eagles, and Tar Heels all walked away with a share of second. Second place is the highest the North Carolina men's fencing team has placed in an ACC Team Championship since the tournament was brought back in 2015 (excluding 2021 which contained a reduced field due to COVID).Â
Freshman Elden Wood led the men's team in wins on Sunday, finishing the day at 6-3. Eli Lippman led men's epee with a 5-4 record, and Nick Baumstein led men's foil at 5-4.Â
The North Carolina fencing team will have a few weeks off before heading to Lafayette College for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regionals on March 11th. Those who qualify will look to earn their spot at the NCAA Fencing Championships in Durham on March 23-26.
Results
ACC Individual Championships
Women's Results
Foil
3) Sophia MandourÂ
10) Tarleton Hunt
12)Sofia Molho
14)Katie McGillion-Moore
Sabre
4)Sophia Kovacs
7)Abby Parker
10)Iman Tucker
16)Toma Kobozeva
Epee
7)Isabella Summers
8)Nicole Milewski
9)Ali Parker
13)Erica Oake
Men's Results
Foil
6)Nick Baumstein
14)Will Palazzolo
15)Dylan Divito
16 )Jake McGillion-Moore
Sabre
4)Elden Wood
6)Alec Mulvaney
11)Nicky Wind
14)Noah Shepanek
Epee
9) Eli Lippman
11) Henry Shugart
13) Nathan Paolini
14) Xavier Hilbert
ACC Team Championships
Women
1) Notre DameÂ
2) DukeÂ
3) North CarolinaÂ
4) Boston CollegeÂ
Men
1) Notre DameÂ
T-2) North CarolinaÂ
T-2) Boston College
T-2) Duke
Players Mentioned
