March 12, 2002
CLEVELAND - Junior All-America Kate Rudkin (Boulder, Colo./Boulder) took second at the Midwest Collegiate Fencing Conference Regional Championships to lead the Northwestern fencing team. The championships were held March 9 at Case Western Reserve University.
Rudkin, NU's top ep?e fencer, went 9-2 on the day to finish second in the field of 12. She had more touches over her opponents, 20, than any other ep?eist. Rudkin was the defending ep?e title holder from 2000 and 2001.
Senior teammates Jennifer Greenebaum (Mendham, N.J./Pingry School) and Lynn Zuckerman (Wyckoff, N.J./Ramapo) finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in ep?e.
NU's second-highest finisher of the competition was freshman Lauren Dunn (Sacramento, Calif./Del Camp), who took fifth in sabre out of 12 competitors. Dunn recorded seven wins and finished with an 11-touch advantage. Senior Kate Frambach (Elm Grove, Wis./Catholic Memorial) had six wins for sixth place in sabre, while Laurel Scherffius (Charlotte, N.C./Northwest School of the Arts) took ninth.
The competition in foil was fierce. Freshman Julia F?ldi (Budapest, Hungary/Szent Istv?n Gimn?zium) finished sixth with seven wins, while senior Kristen Dorf (St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Academy) was a close seventh with five wins. Senior Maggie Kebrdle (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph) rounded out the top 10.
Traditionally, the top five finishers in the regional championships earn bids to the NCAA Championships. The championships will be held March 21-24 in Madison, N.J. Last season, NU sent four fencers to the NCAAs-Rudkin, Greenebaum, Dorf and then-senior Carly Wells. This year's qualifiers will be announced on Thursday by the United States Fencing Coaches Association selection committee.