Chapel Hill, NC — October 11, 2025 — The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill hosted the 2025 Atlantic Coast Alliance of Taekwondo Associations (ACATA) Tournament, welcoming 109 competitors from universities across the Mid-Atlantic. The event marked the largest UNC tournament in ACATA history and showcased the growing strength, camaraderie, and sportsmanship that define collegiate Taekwondo in the region.

The success of the UNC event reflects a broader momentum building across the ACATA league, which serves as the Mid-Atlantic region’s home within the National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) Regional League Initiative. Through ACATA, student-athletes from universities across Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, and beyond come together in a competitive yet collaborative environment that strengthens the entire collegiate Taekwondo community.

“The regional league initiative has been fantastic for our league,” said Casey Denham, ACATA President. “Not only are our competitions larger, but all of our competitors are growing from the increased competition.”

The NCTA Regional League Initiative, now in its second year, connects collegiate teams nationwide—including the Eastern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference (ECTC), Midwestern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference (MCTC), Southern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference (SCTC), Northwest Collegiate Taekwondo Conference (NWCTC), PacWest Collegiate Taekwondo Conference (PacWest), and ACATA—to expand opportunities for athletes to represent their schools and qualify for the NCTA Cup Championships each spring.

“Going into the second year of the NCTA Regional League Initiative, I am so pleased to see the most opportunities ever for collegiate athletes to participate and represent their schools in competition in their regions,” said Dan Chuang, NCTA President. “Thank you to the hard work of our regional directors, as well as to Tournament Committee Chair Tara Sarathi for their hard work to make these events a reality.”

Chuang also reflected on the continued success of the NCTA Cup, which debuted last season as the culmination of the collegiate Taekwondo year.

“The historic NCTA Cup was a resounding success, with head-to-head 3v3 poomsae and sparring formats bringing an electric atmosphere as athletes gave their all on behalf of their teammates and schools to reach the podium, and schools from the full breadth of the country represented,” said Chuang. “I am looking forward to seeing this event grow year over year and become a destination for teams at the end of a long season.”

The Chapel Hill tournament brought together athletes from UNC, Liberty University, Virginia Tech, UMBC, UVA, Georgia Tech, Drexel, and NC State, with many programs meeting on the mats for the first time this season. The event marked Drexel University and NC State’s first-ever ACATA appearances, reflecting the league’s continued growth across the Mid-Atlantic.

“It was great to have our largest UNC tournament ever, with 109 competitors and welcoming students from Drexel and NC State for the first time,” Denham added. “The energy throughout the day was incredible, and it’s inspiring to see how collegiate Taekwondo continues to grow across the region.”

From the first poomsae rounds to the final sparring matches, the atmosphere was filled with excitement and mutual respect as teams cheered each other on. The tournament underscored the values of teamwork, sportsmanship, and competitive excellence that define ACATA’s role in the NCTA framework.

Tournament Results

Poomsae

Men’s White/Yellow
🥇 Eric Chen (UNC)
🥈 Ricardo Huezo (Liberty University)
🥉 Nathan Norton (Liberty University), Christian Caldwell (Liberty University)

Men’s Green/Orange
🥇 Matthew Yun (UNC)
🥈 Christian DeVicent (Liberty University)
🥉 Krish Uppal (UMBC), Vidur Shah (UNC)

Men’s Blue/Purple
🥇 Arya Venkatesan (UNC)
🥈 Brian Tse (UMBC)

Men’s Red
🥇 Colin Franco (UNC)
🥈 Nathan Butler (UNC)
🥉 Paul Bearchell (Liberty University), Praise Apanisile (UNC)

Men’s Black
🥇 David Kim (UVA)
🥈 Krish Parimi (UNC)
🥉 Jaden Jo (UVA), Samuel Kim (UVA)

Women’s White/Yellow
🥇 Katrina McMillen (Liberty University)
🥈 Sofiia Khalik (UNC)
🥉 Adrijaa Paul (UNC)

Women’s Green/Orange
🥇 Emily Cumaco (UMBC)
🥈 Dagan Newsome (UNC)
🥉 Sarah Hoell (Liberty University), Clara Mellows (UNC)

Women’s Blue/Purple
🥇 Emily Sloane (Liberty University)
🥈 Khara Pastean (Liberty University)
🥉 Eunji Lee (UNC)

Women’s Red
🥇 Alexis Goetz (UMBC)
🥈 Zoe Anderson (UNC)
🥉 Rachel Moody (UNC), Marynna McLean (UNC)

Women’s Black
🥇 Anika Tsutsumi (Virginia Tech)
🥈 Astrid De Guzman (Georgia Tech)
🥉 Hanah You (UMBC), Emma Davis (Drexel)

Sparring

Beginner Men’s Light
🥇 Nicholas Schmitz (UMBC)
🥈 Matthew Knowles (Liberty University)
🥉 Krish Uppal (UMBC), Eric Chen (UNC)

Beginner Men’s Middle
🥇 Light Oyediran (UMBC)
🥈 Ricardo Huezo (Liberty University)
🥉 Nathan Norton (Liberty University), Christian Caldwell (Liberty University)

Beginner Men’s Heavy
🥇 James Agbam (UMBC)
🥈 Christian DeVicent (Liberty University)

Beginner Women’s Light
🥇 Katrina McMillen (Liberty University)
🥈 Dagan Newsome (UNC)
🥉 Samhitha Sridhar (UNC)

Beginner Women’s Heavy
🥇 Clara Mellows (UNC)
🥈 Sarah Hoell (Liberty University)

Intermediate Men’s Light
🥇 Nathan Butler (UNC)
🥈 Brian Tse (UMBC)

Intermediate Men’s Middle
🥇 Colin Franco (UNC)
🥈 Praise Apanisile (UNC)
🥉 Nathan Le (UMBC), Aarya Paduru (UNC)

Intermediate Men’s Heavy
🥇 Paul Bearchell (Liberty University)

Intermediate Women’s Light
🥇 Zoe Anderson (UNC)

Intermediate Women’s Middle
🥇 Khara Pastean (Liberty University)
🥈 Marynna McLean (UNC)
🥉 Emily Sloane (Liberty University), Rachel Moody (UNC)

Elite Men’s Light
🥇 Daniel Yoon (UNC)
🥈 Codrin Rau (Georgia Tech)
🥉 Yoonseo Myung (UVA), Hans Gagan (Virginia Tech)

Elite Men’s Middle
 🥇 Dave-Manuel Djachechi (UMBC)
🥈 Jaden Jo (UVA)
🥉 David Kim (UVA), Samuel Kim (UVA)

Elite Men’s Heavy
🥇 Abou Sow (UMBC)
🥈 Mason Mines (UNC)
🥉 Joseph Kim (Liberty University), James Kang (Virginia Tech)

Elite Women’s Light
🥇 Evelyn Gazzola (Virginia Tech)

Elite Women’s Middle (standings corrected Nov. 12, 2025)
🥇 Elizabeth Nitz (NC State)
🥈 Kaitlyn Hansen (UNC)
🥉 Ash Jeong (Virginia Tech), Ruth Cho (Virginia Tech)

Elite Women’s Heavy
🥇 Maia Paulitz (UVA)
🥈 Habiba Morsy (UVA)
🥉 Julia Eesley (Liberty University), Katherine Halick (Virginia Tech)

The next ACATA event will take place at the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday, November 15, 2025, featuring a 3v3 team competition format. Teams across the Mid-Atlantic are already preparing for another exciting display of collegiate Taekwondo as the NCTA Regional League season continues.