Vasko Atanassov Cracks Top 10 in Junior Men’s Sabre at North American Cup
CINCINNATI, OHIO - Vasko Atanassov continues to make his presence felt on the national stage. The freshman standout delivered another strong performance at the February North American Cup, finishing ninth in the Junior Men’s Sabre division-his second top-25 finish of the tournament.
Atanassov came out firing in pool play, putting together an impressive round that earned him a tie for the No. 2 overall seed heading into direct elimination. That high seed gave him a first-round BYE, and he didn’t waste the opportunity. In his first bout of the 128, he controlled the tempo and cruised to a nine-point victory.
From there, Atanassov kept the momentum going. He followed up with a dominant 12-point win in the next round, then gutted out a three-point victory to punch his ticket to the round of 16. That’s where his run came to an end against Silas Choi of Princeton-a tough matchup that saw Atanassov bow out just short of the quarterfinals.
Still, the ninth-place finish is another step forward for the freshman, who’s quickly proving he can hang with the best in the country.
Carolina will regroup and return to team competition next week when they head to Durham for the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, set for February 21-22 at Duke.
Sunday Results Recap
Junior Men’s Sabre
9. Vasko Atanassov
Division I Women’s Epee
33.
Nicole Milewski
129.
Mia Smotritsky
Junior Men’s Foil
57.
Ivan Radoslavov
97.
Aiden Song
As the postseason approaches, performances like Atanassov’s are exactly what Carolina fans want to see-young talent rising to the occasion and gaining valuable experience on the national stage.