In just their second collegiate tournament of the 2015-16 season, the North Carolina men's and women's fencing teams had five top-15 finishers in this weekend's Garret Penn State Open.
The top finisher for UNC was first-year Jason Xu, who tied for third in men’s epee on Sunday by advancing to the semifinals of bracket play as the No. 2 seed.
Xu’s performance marked his second top-10 finish of the season. He finished eighth at the Temple Open on Nov. 1.
Also finishing in the top-15 for the men was first-year Connor Ritchey, who finished 14th in men’s sabre.
For the women’s team, junior Gabrielle D’Astoli earned a 13th-place finish and a spot in bracket play in foil, while sophomore Diana Philpot and junior Sarah Hanvy finished 13th and 15th, respectively, in sabre.
Quotable
“This tournament, I was able to control myself when I was down and be able beat disappointment and win my bouts.” — Xu on how he improved from his eighth-place finish at the Temple Open to a third-place finish at the Garret Penn State Open.
Notable
UNC was the southern-most squad that competed in the Garret Penn State Open, which also featured Ohio State, Pennsylvania, Notre Dame, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Temple, Brown, Yale and Penn State.
