No. 6/8 North Carolina fencing is heading to Philadelphia for its first road trip of the season, and the Elite Invitational will put the Tar Heels in the middle of a loaded weekend from start to finish.
Carolina will face a field that includes No. 10 Ohio State, No.
1 Notre Dame, No. 7/3 Harvard, No.
8/5 Duke and host school No. 4/10 Pennsylvania.
The event runs Friday and Saturday at the Ott Center on Pennsylvania’s campus, with competition beginning at 8:00 a.m. each day.
The Tar Heels arrive after opening the season against Duke, where both the men’s and women’s teams came up short against the Blue Devils. Even in defeat, there were plenty of individual bright spots.
On the men’s side, Vasko Atanassov led the way with three sabre victories, while Cristian Porras added two wins in foil. Youssef Shamel and Noah Silvers each picked up two victories in epee.
The women also had several strong showings. Jana Elbakry, Samantha Maryash and Tatiana Zafft each posted two wins, and Sarah Mei made her collegiate debut with two foil victories, including a 5-0 shutout.
Carolina’s schedule in Philadelphia starts Friday with No. 10 Ohio State at 8:30 a.m., followed by Pennsylvania at 9:45 a.m. The Tar Heels then return later in the day for matchups with Harvard and Notre Dame, both listed for 3:30 p.m.
Saturday opens with a bye at 8:30 a.m. before North Carolina takes on Cleveland State at 9:45 a.m. and closes the weekend against No. 5/4 Princeton at 11:00 a.m.
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