Highlighted by strong performances from first-years Matthew Garrelick and Sydney Persing, the North Carolina fencing team turned in successful finishes in the St. Louis North American Cup this past weekend.
In their first competition in over a month, 11 Tar Heels participated in the event, which started on Friday and ended on Monday.
First-year Connor Ritchey was the highest-placing UNC fencer after the first day of the competition, finishing 35th out of 150 fencers in the junior men's sabre.
The Tar Heels who competed on Friday included sophomore Gabe Foster — who placed 151st in Division I men’s foil — as well as sophomore Samantha Galina and first-year Erin O’Neill in the junior women’s epee. The duo placed 85th and 105th, respectively.
North Carolina continued to perform well on Saturday, as sophomore Diana Philpot tied for 46th in the junior women’s sabre. But Persing posted the best finish of the day and second-best finish of the weekend with an 18th-place finish in a field of 152 in the Division I women's foil.
On Sunday, Garrelick took 11th in the Division I men's sabre, marking the highest finish for any Tar Heel this past weekend.
Philpot and junior Sarah Hanvy were the only Tar Heels who competed on Monday, and they placed 54th and tied for 77th, respectively, in the Division I women's sabre.
Quotable
“I was very impressed and very happy for Matt (Garrelick) and Syd (Persing). They’ve been right on the edge of a break out performance all fall, and it was really nice to see them have that opportunity to get the type of results they’re capable of.” — Coach Ron Miller on Garrelick and Persing's performances.
