Feb. 8, 2009

2008-09 Northwestern Fencing Results/Statistics

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Northwestern finished off the 2008-09 regular season in style Sunday, sweeping through all seven matches at the Notre Dame Duals, completing a perfect weekend for the sixth-ranked Wildcats. Head coach Laurie Schiller's 'Cats finish the season with a 34-7 mark, eclipsing the 30-win plateau for the fifth-straight season, as Schiller continues to inch closer to the exclusing 1,000-victory club, boasting an overall record of 989-412.

Just hours after sweeping both Duke and North Carolina at the Duke Duals in Durham, N.C., the Wildcats were back on the strip, opening up the day with a convincing 21-6 victory over Florida, highlighted by a perfect 9-0 record from the foil squad. NU kept that momentum going, earning a 20-7 decision over UC San Diego and notching a convincing 23-4 win over California Tech, this time getting a perfect 9-0 result from the epee squad.

From there, the 'Cats continued to roll, downing conference opponent Cleveland State 25-2 thanks to 9-0 records from both the foil and sabre teams. Northwestern's closest match of the afternoon was an 18-9 decision over Stanford before breezing past Air Force 24-3 and finishing up the regular season with a 25-2 win over Oberlin.

The foil team, spearheaded by senior Sam Nemecek (Caledonia, Mich./Caledonia) paced the Wildcats on the day, losing just six match-ups on the day to post a 57-6 mark and finishing the year with an impressive 38-3 overall record. Nemecek upped her career record to 392-65, moving her past Julia Földi into second-place on the all-time wins list. Nemecek is now just 13 victories shy of surpassing Jessica Florendo as the Wildcats' all-time wins leader.

NU's sabre squad had an impressive outing as well, finishing with a 51-12 record, including three perfect 9-0 rounds. The sabre team, the youngest of the weapons for the Wildcats this season, capped off the year with a 26-15 overall record. Northwestern's epee team also had an impressive outing, finishing 49-14 on the day and 37-4 on the year. Junior Christa French (Southlake, Texas/Carroll), who notched her 200th career victory the day before in the Duke Duals, went 9-1 on the day to pace the epee, upping her career record to 213-67.

The Wildcats now travel to Albuquerque, N.M., to compete in the USFA North American Cup this Friday, Feb. 13, through Monday, Feb. 16. Northwestern then heads right back to South Bend for the Midwest Conference Championships Feb. 28 and March 1.

Notre Dame Duals Results

Northwestern 21, Florida 6
Epee: 5-4; Foil: 9-0; Sabre: 7-2

Northwestern 20, UC San Diego 7
Epee: 7-2; Foil: 6-3; Sabre: 7-2

Northwestern 23, California Tech 4
Epee: 9-0; Foil: 8-1; Sabre: 6-3

Northwestern 25, Cleveland State 2
Epee: 7-2; Foil: 9-0; Sabre: 9-0

Northwestern 18, Stanford 9
Epee: 8-1; Foil: 7-2; Sabre: 4-5

Northwestern 24, Air Force 3
Epee: 6-3; Foil: 9-0; Sabre: 9-0

Northwestern 25, Oberlin 2
Epee: 7-2; Foil: 9-0; Sabre: 9-0