Catherine Tong
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UNC–Chapel Hill Kicks Off 2026–2027 ACATA Season with Collegiate Taekwondo Tournament
2 weeks
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
| Place | School | Points |
| 🥇 1st | UNC–Chapel Hill | 56 |
| 🥈 2nd | Liberty University | 33 |
| 🥉 3rd | NC State | 17 |
| 4th | UMBC | 15 |
| 5th | Virginia Tech | 14 |
| 6th | Longwood University | 3 |
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)
2026 FISU America Games Selection Procedures Update for Mixed Freestyle Team
5 months
The NCTA is informing athletes of a new opportunity to represent USA in the Freestyle Team Division at the 2026 FISU America Games. Some background is below:
In March 2026, NCTA received word that the Mixed Freestyle Team Division for the 2026 FISU America Games would be canceled. The explanation given to us was “The main reason Team Freestyle Poomsae will not be included is due to recent modifications to the international regulations governing this discipline. As a result of these changes, we currently do not have judges who are properly certified under the new standards.”
The NCTA lobbied to reverse this decision but was ultimately unsuccessful.
This month on June 1, the NCTA received notice that the freestyle team division was being reinstated. We requested an explanation on the latest notice and received the explanation as follows:
“The Organizing Committee has recently decided to include the Freestyle Poomsae Team Event in the competition program. As you mentioned, and as was previously communicated, this event was initially not going to be included. At that time, one of the main challenges was that Peru currently does not have enough qualified referees to evaluate this discipline under the new World Taekwondo regulations.”
“However, following several meetings with the Technical Heads of the discipline, it was decided to add the Freestyle Poomsae Team Event, as there was significant interest from several countries that wished to participate in this modality. ”
“To make this possible and encourage greater participation, the event will be evaluated using the previous competition regulations rather than the new World Taekwondo rules. ”
“We understand that this change may have caused confusion, especially considering our previous communications, and we sincerely apologize for the delay in publishing the updated regulations and technical information.”
After some deliberation, the NCTA is opening up the opportunity for athletes to apply to compete in the freestyle team poomsae division at the 2026 FISU America Games.
To apply athletes, all athletes must meet the eligibility requirements at:
The athletes must email ncta.contact@gmail.com with the names of all athletes on the proposed team (names should be as they appear on the passports of the athletes) by Monday, June 8.
If only one team applies by Monday, June 8, and all athletes meet the eligibility requirements at the website above, that team will be named for the 2026 FISU America Games once they have met all eligibility requirements.
If more than one team applies by Monday, June 8, then each team has until Sunday, June 14 to submit a video of the team’s freestyle performance (no board breaking). The performances will be reviewed by a panel of referees.
The following criteria must be followed for a video submission:
- Video must be taken from a single vantage point.
- The camera can pan left or right but cannot zoom in or out. All five active team members must be in the field of view for the duration of the performance.
- Performance must occur on martial arts mats (i.e. puzzle mats or rolled sparring mats). Spring floors are not allowed.
- Athletes must announce their name and the current date at the start of the video.
- Athletes must provide proof of citizenship, age, and collegiate status by Monday, June 8 per the information on team trials page.
All athletes applying for this opportunity must be willing to pay $1900 for five nights in the Athlete village for the 2026 FISU America Games. Any additional nights in the village incur a $100 surcharge. Also, athletes and staff must purchase their own ticket to Lima from their hometown.
Athletes interested in competing in the team freestyle event (5 athletes + 1 alternate) should email ncta.contact@gmail.com as described above.
Coaching Application for 2026 FISU America Games
7 months
Applications to coach as part of the NCTA Staff at the 2026 FISU America Games in Lima, Peru from July 22-27 are now open. Applicants must be USATKD members and must be Safe Sport certified and background checked now and at the time of the championships. If interested, complete this survey by May 6, 2026.
Details of the trip are in the application.
US Collegiate Athletes Earn Berths on USA National Collegiate Team for 2026 FISU America Games in Lima, Peru.
7 months
by Catherine Tong
in Team
Fresno, CA, April 3, 2026 – Congratulations to the following athletes who earned a spot on the USA Team for the 2026 FISU America Games (Collegiate Pan-American Games) to be held in Lima, Peru in July. These NCTA National Collegiate Team trials were held in Fresno, CA, on April 3. The top two players in each individual division were selected for the team. Final sparring matches were not contested, so the top two players shared first place.
Men’s Individual Recognized Poomsae
Sung Hyun Eric Gun – Rutgers University
Bomin Kim – Duke University
Women’s Individual Recognized Poomsae
Yuri Kim – University of California, Merced
Aahana Mulchandani – Smith College
Men’s Individual Freestyle Poomsae
Sung Hyun Eric Gun – Rutgers University
Landon Her – University of California, Irvine
Women’s Individual Freestyle Poomsae
Allison DeGuzman – California State Univeresity, Fullerton
Gian Legaspi – Bakersfield College
Mixed Pair Freestyle Poomsae
Kaitlyn Reclusado – Menlo College & Sung Hyun Gun – Rutgers University
Mens’ -54kg
Arian Canete – University of California, Los Angeles
David Yehe-Nara – University of Connecticut, Stamford
Women’s -46kg
Caliana Fonseca – California State University, Northridge
Yusleny Rangel – Edmonds Community College
Men’s -58kg
Melvy Alvarez University of Connecticut
Prahchomvong Thay California State University, Fresno
Women’s -49kg
Maggie Shiba – University of Utah
Monique Villasenor – San Antonio College
Men’s -63g
Donovan James Eugenio – University of Washington
Cole Noretto – Seattle University
Women’s -53kg
Gaia Castillo – University of California, Riverside
Audrey Kohlman – Cornell University
Men’s -68kg
Justin Fredricks – State University of New York, Old Westbury
Jordan Panotes – South Puget Sound Community College
Women’s -57kg
Caitlyn Cox – San Antonio College
Grace Shiba – Weber State University
Men’s -74kg
Celso Chua – California State University, Fresno
Noah Shanafelt – Kent State University
Women’s -62kg
Christina Chimal – University of California, Riverside
Kayla Shanahan – Stony Brook University
Men’s -80kg
Barron Mosteller – Diablo Valley College
Devin Cornell – California State University, Fresno
Women’s -67kg
Chloe Chua – California State University, Fresno
Men’s -87kg
Marvin Cardona Lopez – Tacoma Community College
William Smith – University of California, Los Angeles
Women’s -73kg
Sydney Merrill – Brown University
Men’s +87kg
Nicholas Carlo – Menlo College
Abou Sow – University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Women’s +73kg
Alena Viana – University of North Carolina, Charlotte
For full results, please see the 2026 Team Trials page at https://ncta-usa.com/wordpress/2026-ncta-team-trials/
Notice of Removal of Team Freestyle Poomsae Division at 2026 FISU America Games
8 months
Dear NCTA Athletes and Coaches:
The NCTA received the following notice from the local organizing committee of the 2026 FISU America Games:
“It has been decided that the Team Freestyle Poomsae division will not be included in the championship. In other words, the team modality will be withdrawn from the competition for FAG Lima 2026.
“The main reason Team Freestyle Poomsae will not be included is due to recent modifications to the international regulations governing this discipline. As a result of these changes, we currently do not have judges who are properly certified under the new standards.
“Providing the required training and ensuring certification would take additional time. Given how soon the championship will take place, the Taekwondo Coordinator for FAG Lima 2026 has advised that it would not be feasible for the current judges to complete the necessary training and meet the updated qualification standards in time.
“An alternative would be to hire certified judges from Europe or Asia; however, this option unfortunately falls outside the event’s allocated budget.”
NCTA and UniUSA are appealing this decision and requesting that the tournament be run with prior versions of the international rules before the recent modifications (board breaking in particular). However, in the meantime, we recommend not registering for this event at this time. If the event is reinstated, we will open registration for this event again. Any current registrations for this event will be refunded.
We know that this is frustrating for athletes, coaches and family, but we are doing all we can to give you all the opportunity to compete and will keep athletes and coaches up to date in a timely manner.
Best regards,
Dan Chuang
NCTA President
UPDATE – March 26, 2026
Unfortunately, the organizing committee of the Games has confirmed the decision not to include freestyle team in the Games despite the appeal of the USA Delegation. Their response is below:
“Thank you for your message and for following up on this matter. We truly appreciate the interest and commitment of your federation and athletes regarding the Freestyle Poomsae discipline.
“After careful consideration, we regret to inform you that the Team Freestyle Poomsae category will not be included in this sporting event.
“We understand the importance of this modality for your team selection process and sincerely appreciate your understanding in this regard.”
