Four North Carolina fencing team members participated in the North American Cup this weekend, a series of fencing tournaments that included both men’s and women’s Division I Foil, Sabre and Epee events.
What happened?
First-year Bernard Witek placed 99th out of 177 in the Division I Men’s Sabre event. Witek was the 97th seed after accruing a score of negative four in the first pool. His performance gave him a bye for the first round of the second pool, only to be defeated 15-9 by William A. Julien of Gold Coast, Florida in the second round. First-year Andrew Fulmer placed 65th out of 145 for Division I Men’s Epee before losing 15-14 in the second round.
In Division I Women’s Saber, UNC sophomore Jackie Litynski placed 56th and first-year Clara Somfelean tied for 107th out of 136. Litynski, after receiving the 26th seed, completed the upset of 56th ranked Kerry Plunkett of Temple, winning 15-14. She then lost to Francesca Russo of Bergen Fencing Club, 15-5. Somfelean was eliminated after the first pool where she lost four times and had negative eight points.
Who stood out?
Litynski stood out as the only North Carolina fencer to win a match in an elimination bracket. Fulmer also acquired eight points in the first pool and got the 65th seed, despite falling in his first bracket match.
When was it decided?
Fulmer, Witek, and Litynski all made it out of the first pool, but none made it past the second round of their brackets.
Why does it matter?
