Feb. 23, 2009

EASTON, Pa. - The North Carolina men's fencing team won the 2009 Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association (MACFA) championship Sunday, claiming the program's first crown in its second season in the league. Lafayette College hosted the event, which included 17 men's teams.

The UNC men's foil squad that won first at MACFA Championships: Alex Grigorenko, David Skwerer and Kevin Nadeau

"The key was consistency," UNC coach Ron Miller said. "Everyone had a good day and a lot of people had great days. We learned a lot in last year's tournament and we were more prepared this year."

The Tar Heels edged Stevens Institute of Technology, which trailed Carolina in the overall team results by a total of six bouts. Johns Hopkins, last year's winner by one touch over runner-up UNC, was third. Drew finished fourth.

The MACFA includes only men's teams. The UNC women's squad does not currently compete as part of a conference.

In addition to the team title, Carolina won all three weapons - epee, foil and sabre - but brought home the second-place trophy in sabre. Although the Tar Heels were technically the victorious squad, Stevens would have won the title in that weapon if not for an uncorrectable scoring error in one bout. The Tar Heels held a team vote and decided to exchange trophies with Stevens, giving the Ducks the first-place hardware.

Three Tar Heels finished second in the individual competition, with sophomore Eric Hsieh the runner-up in epee, freshman Kevin Nadeau in foil and senior Bobby Ziechmann in sabre.

Carolina was represented by three competitors in each weapon: Benjamin Gellis, Hsieh and Jarrett Rodrigues in epee; Nadeau, Alex Grigorenko and David Skwerer in foil; and Bobby Ziechmann, Kevin Ziechmann and John Powell in sabre.

"The conference tournament is the culmination of what we do in the regular season," Miller said. "Now we look ahead to the national season."

The sabre squad brought home the second-place trophy after an act of sportsmanship. Pictured are Bobby Ziechmann, John Powell and Kevin Ziechmann.

Next up for Carolina is Mid-Atlantic/South Regionals on March 7. The list of regional qualifiers is set to be announced on Tuesday. At regionals, the Tar Heels will have the opportunity to qualify for NCAA Championships, held March 19-22 in State College, Pa.

MACFA Team Results in PDF Format

MACFA Epee Results in PDF Format

MACFA Foil Results in PDF Format

MACFA Sabre Results in PDF Format