Jan. 7, 2011

UC San Diego West Invitational
12 p.m. CT - Northwestern vs. UC San Diego (NU leads series, 15-0)
1 p.m. CT - Northwestern vs. Florida (NU leads series, 7-0)
2 p.m. CT - Northwestern vs. Air Force (NU leads series, 18-3)
3:30 p.m. CT - Northwestern vs. Stanford (NU leads series, 11-7)
4:30 p.m. CT - Northwestern vs. Cal Tech (NU leads series, 6-0)
Site: RIMAC Arena • San Diego, Calif.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Following a month-long hiatus, Northwestern returns to the strips for the first time in 2011, competing in its first dual-meet tournament of the season. The Wildcats travel west to San Diego, Calif., taking part in the UC San Diego West Invitational Saturday, Jan. 8.

"Our dual meet schedule is definitely a challenge," said head coach Laurie Schiller. "We have seven weekends of dual meets against some of the top programs in the country. Obviously as a coach I expect for us to win all of them, but realize that things happen, especially in a long season like we have. In a five-touch bout, anything can happen. Our goal is to win every meet we compete in, and that's the mindset we are striving to instill in our girls is to believe that they can win against anyone in the country."

Northwestern is coming off an historic season in 2009-10 as the Wildcats posted a 45-4 dual meet record, setting the program record for most victories in a season. NU used that momentum gained in the regular season to finish third in the Midwest Fencing Conference before closing out the year with a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

The Wildcats open up the weekend slate against the host Tritons at noon CT Saturday, followed by bouts against Florida and the Air Force Academy. Northwestern then closes out the afternoon with a pair of California opponents, facing Stanford at 3:30 p.m. CT before squaring off against Cal Tech in its final meet of the day. Historically, the Wildcats have fared well against this weekend's opponents, posting a combined 57-10 mark and are undefeated all-time against UC San Diego (15-0), Florida (7-0) and Cal Tech (6-0).

Following this weekend's meet, Northwestern will compete in the USFA North American Cup on January 14-17 in Dallas, Texas, before commencing on the stretch run of its dual meet season. The Wildcats next dual event will be at the NYU Duals in New York City on Saturday, Jan. 22.

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