Jan. 23, 2010

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Thanks to a dramatic comeback in the opening bout of the NYU duals, Northwestern head coach Laurie Schiller secured his place in NCAA history, notching his 1,000th career victory. Schiller and the fifth-ranked Wildcats posted a 4-2 mark on the afternoon, improving to 14-2 on the year in dual meets as Schiller upped his career record to 1,003-414.

"It was an extraordinarily exciting comeback and it just seemed fitting," said Schiller of the 1,000th victory. "It was an unbelievable victory and started out what turned out to be a good day for the team. We beat two ranked teams and everyone performed well, so all in all, it was a good day for us."

Trailing fourth-ranked Columbia 12-8, Northwestern rallied to tie the bout at 13. Freshman foilist Dayana Sarkisova (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) defeated Columbia's top foilist 5-4 to seal the match and give the Wildcats the 14-13 victory.

Northwestern carried the momentum from the victory into its bout with Yale, roaring past the Bulldogs 22-5 behind 8-1 records from both the foil and epée squads. The Wildcats then dropped a pair of competitive matches to conference rivals Notre Dame and Ohio State, falling to the second-ranked Irish 17-10 and the sixth-ranked Buckeyes 16-11. But Northwestern closed out the afternoon strong, topping Wayne State 24-3 and closing out the day with a 25-2 decision over host NYU.

All three weapons had impressive showings on the day for Northwestern with the foil team posting a 38-16 mark on the afternoon, including a perfect 9-0 victory over NYU. The epée team was equally as potent for the Wildcats, also finishing with a 38-16 and also a perfect 9-0 decision over NYU. The sabre team added a 9-0 decision over Wayne State en route to a 30-24 mark, giving every weapons a perfect victory on the day.

Schiller, who joined North Carolina's Ron Miller as only the second fencing coach to reach 1,000 victory, now gets his Wildcats ready for their first home dual meet of the season when Northwestern hosts the NU Duals Saturday, Jan. 30 and Sunday, Jan. 31 at the Sports and Aquatic Center. The 'Cats welcome 12 schools to Evanston, including top-ranked Penn State and conference rivals Notre Dame and Ohio State and Miller's North Carolina squad as the sport's two 1,000-victory coaches will go head-to-head. Action gets underway at 8 a.m. both days.

NYU Duals Results

Northwestern 14, Columbia 13
Epée: 5-4; Foil: 6-3, Sabre: 3-6

Northwestern 22, Yale 5
Epée: 8-1; Foil: 8-1, Sabre: 6-3

Notre Dame 17, Northwestern 10
Epée: 4-5; Foil: 3-6, Sabre: 3-6

Ohio State 16, Northwestern 11
Epée: 5-4; Foil: 4-5, Sabre: 2-7

Northwestern 24, Wayne State 3
Epée: 7-2; Foil: 8-1, Sabre: 9-0

Northwestern 25, NYU 2
Epée: 9-0; Foil: 9-0, Sabre: 7-2