Chapel Hill, NC — October 10, 2026 — The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill welcomed 68 collegiate taekwondo athletes from six schools on Saturday, October 10, for the opening tournament of the 2026–2027 Atlantic Collegiate Alliance of Taekwondo (ACATA) season. The competition brought together athletes from UNC–Chapel Hill, Liberty University, North Carolina State University, Virginia Tech, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), and Longwood University for a day of individual poomsae and sparring competition.

The tournament marked another successful event for UNC’s taekwondo program, which returned to hosting regional competition less than six months after organizing the 2026 National Collegiate Taekwondo Championships in April. The event also highlighted the continued development of ACATA as part of the National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) Regional League Initiative, which provides collegiate athletes with additional opportunities to represent their schools and compete throughout the academic year.

“This tournament really showed off the hard work our students have been putting in as well as the benefits from expanding our league North, with improvements and increased competition across the league,” said Casey Denham, ACATA President.

The tournament featured strong performances across all belt levels, with athletes competing in individual poomsae divisions and beginner, intermediate, and elite sparring categories. UNC–Chapel Hill claimed first place in the overall school standings with 56 points, followed by Liberty University in second place with 33 points and NC State in third with 17 points.

Several athletes delivered standout performances across both disciplines. Liberty University’s David Varner, Matthew Knowles, and Emily Sloane each captured gold medals in both poomsae and sparring, while NC State’s Liam Milner also earned two first-place finishes. In black belt poomsae, Virginia Tech’s Ryan Sitaram and UNC’s Andrea Gracia Andradi earned gold medals in the men’s and women’s divisions, respectively. The competitive sparring divisions featured additional strong performances from athletes representing all six participating schools.

Beyond the competition, the tournament also showcased the growing connections between collegiate and high school taekwondo programs. Denham recognized two high school volunteers from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM), which has recently established its own taekwondo team.

“I’d also like to give a shoutout to our two high school volunteers from North Carolina School of Science and Math (NCSSM),” Denham said. “They have a high school taekwondo team now and were happy to come spend the day helping us with the tournament.”

Denham also expressed appreciation to UNC for its continued commitment to hosting collegiate taekwondo events, particularly following the considerable effort required to host the National Collegiate Championships earlier in the year.

The event reflects the broader success of the NCTA Regional League Initiative in expanding collegiate taekwondo competition and strengthening connections among schools throughout the country.

“It is exciting to see ACATA continue to grow and provide more opportunities for collegiate athletes to represent their schools in competition,” said Dan Chuang, NCTA President. “The continued expansion of our regional leagues is a testament to the dedication of our student athletes, regional directors, and tournament organizers. I want to thank Casey Denham, UNC, and all of the volunteers for their commitment to making these opportunities possible.”

As the 2026–2027 collegiate taekwondo season gets underway, the UNC tournament reflects the continued commitment of ACATA and the NCTA Regional League Initiative to expanding competitive opportunities and strengthening collegiate taekwondo programs throughout the region.

The ACATA season continues on November 7, 2026, with a tournament at Villanova University, where collegiate teams will have another opportunity to build on their early-season performances.

Tournament Results

Overall School Standings

PlaceSchoolPoints
🥇 1stUNC–Chapel Hill56
🥈 2ndLiberty University33
🥉 3rdNC State17
4thUMBC15
5thVirginia Tech14
6thLongwood University3

Individual Poomsae Results

Men’s White/Yellow

  • 🥇 David Varner (Liberty)
  • 🥈 Brenton Lian (UNC)
  • 🥉 Tyrian Mathis (NC State), Richard Lin (UMBC)

Women’s White/Yellow

  • 🥇 Sana Vemunoori (UNC)
  • 🥈 Nara Halvorsen (UNC)
  • 🥉 Lillian Jiang (UNC), Finn Hogan (UNC)

Men’s Green/Orange

  • 🥇 Eric Chen (UNC)
  • 🥈 Luke Price (UNC)
  • 🥉 James Agbam (UMBC), Xavier Zumba (Liberty)

Women’s Green/Orange

  • 🥇 Isabella Hood (UMBC)

Men’s Blue/Purple

  • 🥇 Matthew Knowles (Liberty)
  • 🥈 Ajer Magdamit (NC State)
  • 🥉 Aditya Vardhan Veerathu (UNC)

Men’s Red/Brown

  • 🥇 Liam Milner (NC State)

Women’s Red/Brown

  • 🥇 Emily Sloane (Liberty)
  • 🥈 Iniya Illamparithi (UNC)
  • 🥉 Alexis Goetz (UMBC)

Men’s Black Belt

  • 🥇 Ryan Sitaram (Virginia Tech)
  • 🥈 Krish Parimi (UNC)
  • 🥉 Ericson Lehmann (Liberty), Ryan Kim (UNC)

Women’s Black Belt

  • 🥇 Andrea Gracia Andradi (UNC)
  • 🥈 Hanah You (UMBC)
  • 🥉 Evelyn Gazzola (Virginia Tech), Kaylee Powell (Virginia Tech)

Individual Sparring Results

Men’s Beginner Lightweight

  • 🥇 Brenton Lian (UNC)

Men’s Beginner Middleweight

  • 🥇 David Varner (Liberty)
  • 🥈 Tyrian Mathis (NC State)
  • 🥉 Richard Lin (UMBC), Nathan Novak (Liberty)

Men’s Beginner Heavyweight

  • 🥇 Simon Zhao (UNC)
  • 🥈 Xavier Zumba (Liberty)
  • 🥉 Luke Price (Liberty), Alexander Nomeny (UMBC)

Women’s Beginner Middleweight

  • 🥇 Nara Halvorsen (UNC)
  • 🥈 Jocelyn Naro (Liberty)

Women’s Beginner Heavyweight

  • 🥇 Finn Gorritz (UNC)
  • 🥈 Anahitha Raffe Sofia (UNC)

Men’s Intermediate Lightweight

  • 🥇 Matthew Knowles (Liberty)
  • 🥈 Aditya Vardhan Veerathu (UNC)
  • 🥉 Andrew Zhang (UNC), Ethan Kim (UNC)

Men’s Intermediate Middleweight

  • 🥇 Liam Milner (NC State)
  • 🥈 Nathan Le (UMBC)

Men’s Intermediate Heavyweight

  • 🥇 James Agbam (UMBC)
  • 🥈 Aarya Paduru (UNC)

Women’s Intermediate Middleweight

  • 🥇 Jahnavi Kari (UNC)
  • 🥈 Iniya Illamparithi (UNC)

Women’s Intermediate Heavyweight

  • 🥇 Emily Sloane (Liberty)
  • 🥈 Summer Lynn (NC State)

Men’s Elite Lightweight

  • 🥇 Daniel Yoon (UNC)
  • 🥈 Kyle Le (Virginia Tech)
  • 🥉 Ericson Lehmann (Liberty), Jonah Dela Fuente (NC State)

Men’s Elite Middleweight

  • 🥇 Bryson Shin (Longwood)
  • 🥈 Paul Bearchell (Liberty)
  • 🥉 Abbott Sherwin (NC State)

Men’s Elite Heavyweight

  • 🥇 Mason Mines (UNC)
  • 🥈 Matthew Rotondi (Virginia Tech)

Women’s Elite Lightweight

  • 🥇 Evelyn Gazzola (Virginia Tech)

Women’s Elite Middleweight

  • 🥇 Kaitlyn Hansen (UNC)
  • 🥈 Sophia Varrati (Liberty)

Women’s Elite Heavyweight

  • 🥇 Katherine Halick (Virginia Tech)
  • 🥈 Elizabeth Nitz (NC State)