March 29, 2001
Evanston, Ill. - With an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships and their third consecutive Midwest Conference title, the Northwestern fencing squad continued to establish itself as one of the elite collegiate programs in the nation.
"Despite losing All-American Vivian Imaizumi, and without any recruits, we still had an excellent dual season and came away with another conference title," said head coach Laurie Schiller. "Our top three fencers also had excellent years and came through for us when we needed them."
NU collected an overall mark of 27-4 in dual competition during the regular season, including a 14-0 run to begin the year. The `Cats were untouchable in their first two tournaments, outscored opponents by an average of 14 points. NU remained perfect until they ran into longtime nemesis, Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish edged the Wildcats, 14-13, handing NU their first loss of the season. The `Cats next opponents paid the price for the loss as NU went on to win the next 11 duals, this time by an average of more than 20 points.
The end of the regular season was a bit rocky, with the `Cats dropping three of their final five duals.
After a two week break, the refreshed Wildcats headed back to South Bend, Ind., determined to defend their conference title. The foil and sabre squads got their revenge against the Irish, as both weapons placed first. With a third-place finish from epee, the `Cats remained on top in the Midwest Conference.
True to their top ten ranking all season, NU placed eighth among women's teams at NCAA's with only four fencers present. Kristen Dorf, Jennifer Greenebaum, Carly Wells and Kate Rudkin combined for 45 victories.
Foil:
If there was a indicator as to how the team would do as a whole, it was the performance of the foil squad. They posted a 27-4 record, falling to Notre Dame twice, Columbia and Yale. Each time the foil team lost the team also fell. Dorf led the squad with 81 wins, giving her 280 career wins.
Sabre:
Wells closed out her college career by out-dualing opponents 91-34 on the year while insuring herself a place in the NU record books. Wells has compiled 247 career sabre wins, 133 more than the next fencer on the list. The squad also had a successful season (26-5), highlighted by a first-place finish at the conference championships, which came after beating Notre Dame for the first time this season.
Epee:
All-American epeeist Rudkin fenced her way to a fourth-place finish at NCAA's. She wrapped up her sophomore campaign with a 92-13 record, amassing a team-high .876 winning percentage. Rudkin helped the squad collect a 26-5 record, including a commanding 8-1 win over Notre Dame in their first meeting.