Jan. 8, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern should be all rested up, having been off for more than one and a half months. The Wildcats (6-1) last competed Nov. 23 at the Princeton Duals, where they won two of three, but they are back in action this weekend as they host the NU Duals at Patten Gymnasium.
NU will fence six duals, beginning Saturday against Lawrence at 9:15 a.m. The 'Cats wrap up the first day against Johns Hopkins and Temple. On Sunday, Northwestern starts at 11 a.m. against Cleveland State before rounding out the weekend against North Carolina and Fairleigh Dickinson.
"The team is going to be a bit rusty coming back after a month off," said NU head coach Laurie Schiller. "But we brought the team back early so we've been working hard to get ready."
Northwestern is led by its sabre squad, which is 7-0 thus far. With Lauren Dunn (Sacramento, Calif./Del Campo) and Lauren Van Gieson (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) back from last season's 27-5 squad, the sabreists have won more than 82 percent of their bouts this year. Van Gieson has a squad-best 17-3 record, and Dunn has a 14-3 mark.
The 'Cats fenced the same six opponents at last year's NU Duals. Northwestern knocked off Lawrence and Johns Hopkins to run its record to 8-0 before falling to Temple 14-13 in its third match of the 2002 duals. Besides winning last season, Temple also owns a 12-4 series edge.
"One of the toughest matchups will be against Temple," Schiller said. "But if we fence to our abilities this weekend, we'll have a chance at being undefeated."
Northwestern also defeated Cleveland State, Fairleigh Dickinson and North Carolina in the 2002 duals. The Wildcats fenced the Tar Heels this season at the Princeton Duals, where NU prevailed 17-10.