The North Carolina fencing team competed in the 2017 North American Cup in Columbus, Ohio, this week. In a tournament that spanned four days, no Tar Heel advanced past the round of 16.
What happened?
Competition began Friday morning, with three Tar Heels competing. Senior Sarah Hanvy and first-year Jackie Litynski participated in women’s saber. They both qualified for the tournament, but Litynski lost a close 15-14 bout in the first round and Hanvy lost in the second round.
First-year Justine de Grasse struggled in junior women’s epee. She lost 15-13 in the first round of the tournament and finished ranked 76th out of 144 fencers.
Seven more Tar Heels fenced Saturday. First-year Jacob Henkels didn’t qualify for the men’s epee tournament, and no UNC fencer advanced past the first round of the women’s foil tournament, even though three competed.
North Carolina’s best event was junior men’s saber on Saturday. All three Tar Heels that competed advanced into the tournament and sophomore Matthew Garrelick fought his way to the round of 16 before losing, 15-8.
Garrelick finished the event ranked 16th. Fellow sophomore Connor Ritchey joined Garrelick within the top 25 — he lost in the round of 32 and finished the event ranked No. 24.
On Monday, Henkels improved with a No. 94 finish in junior men’s epee. First-years Wei Chee Chen and Carlexa Fevry both competed in junior women’s foil but neither advanced past the first round of the tournament.
After succeeding in junior men’s saber, North Carolina disappointed in the real saber event. Garrelick was UNC’s top fencer, winning just one tournament bout and finishing with a No. 97 ranking.
