The North Carolina fencing teams faced a field of tough competition this weekend in Card Gym at Duke.
The men’s team, which competed on Saturday, was plagued by the same obstacle it has been fighting all season — inconsistency.
The Tar Heel men finished with a record of 1-4, with their only win coming in the second meet against Brandeis, 15-12. They opened the day with a close 14-13 loss to Johns Hopkins. They lost their final three meets against Duke, Penn State and Notre Dame by scores of 18-9, 21-6 and 25-2.
“It’s a young team. They haven’t really fenced well together this year,” Coach Ron Miller said. “A lot of ups and downs, a lot of inconsistencies. That continued some today.”
The men’s team was led by first-year sabreist Connor Ritchey, who finished 7-4 — including two victories over archrival Duke.
“I’m really proud of the way I fenced against Duke, coming in and being able to establish myself in that rivalry by winning both bouts,” Ritchey said.
Miller was not happy with his team's focus throughout the day. With the score close late in the opening meet, he asked the team how many wins they needed and only three players responded. He knows the team’s focus will have to improve for the team to get better going forward.
The competition on Sunday started off with a technical difficulty that resulted in junior sabreist Sarah Hanvy having to sing the national anthem acapella.
She was able to carry her enthusiasm from singing the anthem to a 2-1 record in the opening meet against Temple. The rest of the team was unable to match her success, though, as it dropped the opening contest 19-8.
