Jan. 21, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill.--Already the all-time winningest head coach in any sport at Northwestern, Laurie Schiller has a chance to reach the 800-win milestone and further boost his numbers at the Midwest Duals this Saturday at SPAC.
Schiller, who has a 796-386 (.673) record in his 26th season at Northwestern, will have nine opportunities to get the four wins necessary to get No. 800. The two-day, 10-team event will feature women's competition on Saturday and men's competition on Sunday.
"(Getting the 800th win) says something about the quality of the program we have maintained over the years," said head coach Laurie Schiller, whose team is ranked fifth in the nation by the USFCA. "I think it would be a great accomplishment because it says something about our system."
At last year's Midwest Duals held at Michigan State's campus in East Lansing, Mich., the Wildcats swept the event for a 4-0 finish. Two of those wins came against Michigan and Michigan State, both of which will make a return to the Midwest Duals this year.
The other schools competing this year are Bowling Green, Chicago, Florida, Lawrence, Minnesota, Purdue, and Wisconsin; only Lawrence fields a varsity women's team.
"My expectation is for us to win all the matches," said Schiller. "But in order to do that, we have to maintain our focus throughout the competition."
For the past two weekends, the 'Cats participated in the USFA North American Cup in San Jose, Calif. Julia F?ldi (Budapest, Hungary/Szent Istavan Gimnazium) took 12th place in the senior/division 1 foil competition, while Sharon Sullivan (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) finished 14th in the junior women's epee competition. Both will try to lead NU and Schiller to victories this weekend.
The Wildcats will also look for assistance from their freshmen, including Mai Vu (New York, N.Y./Bronx Science), who took 42nd in the senior/division sabre competition two weeks ago, and Jessica Florendo (Forest Hills, N.Y./The Dwight School), who nabbed 28th in the senior/division 1 foil competition last weekend.
Women's Schedule
Saturday, Jan. 24:
8 a.m. -- NU-Chi, Pur-Minn, BGSU-Mich, Wis-Flor, Law-MSU
9 a.m. -- NU-Minn, Pur-Mich, BGSU-Flor, Wis-MSU, Law-Chi
10 a.m. -- NU-Mich, Chi-Minn, Wis-Law, BGSU-MSU, Pur-Flor
11 a.m. -- NU-Flor, Minn-Law, Mich-Wis, Pur-BGSU, Chi-MSU
Noon -- NU-MSU, Minn-BGSU, Pur-Wis, Flor-Law, Mich-Chi
1 p.m. -- NU-Pur, Wis-Minn, Flor-MSU, BGSU-Chi, Mich-Law
2 p.m. -- NU-BGSU, Mich-MSU, Minn-Flor, Wis-Chi, Pur-Law
3 p.m. -- NU-Wis, Chi-Flor, Mich-Minn, Law-BGSU, MSU-Pur
4 p.m. -- NU-Law, BGSU-Wis, Flor-Mich, Pur-Chi, MSU-Minn
Men's Schedule
Sunday, Jan. 25:
8 a.m. -- NU-Chi, Pur-Minn, BGSU-Mich, Wis-Flor, Law-MSU
9 a.m. -- NU-Minn, Pur-Mich, BGSU-Flor, Wis-MSU, Law-Chi
10 a.m. -- NU-Mich, Chi-Minn, Wis-Law, BGSU-MSU, Pur-Flor
11 a.m. -- NU-Flor, Minn-Law, Mich-Wis, Pur-BGSU, Chi-MSU
Noon -- NU-MSU, Minn-BGSU, Pur-Wis, Flor-Law, Mich-Chi
1 p.m. -- NU-Pur, Wis-Minn, Flor-MSU, BGSU-Chi, Mich-Law
2 p.m. -- NU-BGSU, Mich-MSU, Minn-Flor, Wis-Chi, Pur-Law
3 p.m. -- NU-Wis, Chi-Flor, Mich-Minn, Law-BGSU, MSU-Pur
4 p.m. -- NU-Law, BGSU-Wis, Flor-Mich, Pur-Chi, MSU-Minn