When asked about the success Carolina's undefeated fencing team has seen this year, the smile on freshman Jay Goss' face comes through louder than his voice on the other end of the phone line.

"It's been demanding, but it's so much fun," says Goss, a graduate of Chapel Hill High School. "I'll definitely be back next year."

In stark contrast, when UNC senior Monica Kim is asked the same question, her furrowed brow can almost be seen in the mobile airwaves. A low hum of uncertainty carries in her voice, though her words are laced sharp with desire.

It's not that Kim is unhappy with the 7-0 start to the University of North Carolina's 2008-'09 fencing season. She's happy.

But the East Chapel Hill grad has become accustomed to winning during her tenure as a sabre fencer at North Carolina. So, instead of the giddiness Goss boyishly displays, Kim implores the team not to settle for "good enough," to look toward the future, toward new challenges, to more wins.

In her fourth year fencing since she walked on as a freshman, Kim said she can see a difference in this team.

"The team this year is better because of our potential," she said. "We have a lot of depth and with a little hard work, luck and guidance, we can really go far."

It's that type of hunger coach Ron Miller has instilled in his team.

Asked about his favorite meets of the season so far, he answers with a list of upcoming meets still to be held this Spring.

He would say "7-0 is nice. But, the season's not over."

This isn't new to Miller, now in his 42nd year coaching at UNC. The dean of all Carolina coaches, he accumulated his 1,000th win in 2004.

Last season, both the UNC men's and women's teams exceeded 20 wins for the third time in five years. Overall, Miller's teams win an average of about 70 percent.

All this in a state that doesn't even have fencing listed as a varsity sport for any high school.

Not surprisingly, Miller discovered the sport in another state -- in a small gym somewhere on the campus of Eastern Kentucky, where Miller was attending graduate school for a master's in physical education.

On a whim, Miller printed a flier calling for any others interested in fencing to join him in a practice session. He was surprised by the turnout, and only had two suits for the 150 or so people that showed up.

About 40 stuck around, and they continued to meet in that gym throughout Miller's time at EKU. That became the first fencing team Miller got together, and decades later the only significant logistical changes have been the location and number of suits.

"It was the success of that experiment in Kentucky while I was doing my master's degree that made me lean to fencing as a profession," Miller said.

Miller doubles as a physical education instructor at the University North Carolina, where he teaches fencing to his classes. He's one of the last in a line of faculty coaches at the university, and he said he feels the two coincide seamlessly and that classes are a good place to recruit walk-ons.

While there is not as much room as in the past for walk-ons, he enjoys teaching just the same.

"It's the same thing whether you're coaching or teaching a class, you're still teaching," he said. "It doesn't fulfill the same objective anymore, but does give me an opportunity to expose people to the sport."

And fencing is the kind of sport most people don't usually get to see often.

In the sports-driven world of Chapel Hill, fencing is far from the top dog -- it's more the runt -- but that's due more to lack of public exposure than team performance.

Year after year, the team continues to achieve at high levels, unseen by many. But all athletes can't be Tyler Hansbrough, and maybe they don't want to be.

Fencing is a sport of subtle technique, incredible concentration and nuance, so Miller's athletes are rarely bothered by the lack of attention; they have far greater things to which to attach their thoughts.

"It's not a glamour or glory sport. You're there because you love it," Kim said. "That genuine attitude holds the team together."

And you don't have to know the difference between an epee and a sabre to know almost 1,200 wins for UNC with only 500 losses is something impressive.

Miller keeps going, and it's obviously not for the fame. It's for the hundreds of kids to whom he introduced the same sport that he fell in love with in that gym so long ago.

And it's for the students who came to his program and found a place, albeit in virtual obscurity, to excel at an activity some consider an art more than a sport.

While the description as "artist" could be appropriate, as UNC's fencers do spend hours meticulously perfecting their craft, these students are red-blooded athletes in search for what all competitors want -- another successful season.

Beth Mechum can be reached at chnsports@nando.com or at (919) 932-8743.