Jan. 23, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern places its perfect 15-0 record on the line this weekend, traveling to New York City to compete in the challenging NYU Duals Saturday, Jan. 24. The Wildcats, who are ranked sixth in the first USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll of 2009, will meet up tsecond-ranked Notre Dame, third-ranked Ohio State and fourth-ranked Columbia.
NU begins competition at 7 a.m. Central time against Columbia, then meet up with Yale at 8:15 a.m. At 9:30, the Wildcats will get their first look at a pair of conference rivals in No. 2 Notre Dame before taking on No. 3 Ohio State at 10:45. Northwestern wraps up the day facing Wayne State at 12:30 before closing out the day against host NYU at 1:45.
Head coach Laurie Schiller's squad posted a 3-3 record at last season's NYU Duals, going head-to-head against the same six opponents. The `Cats fell to top-ranked Notre Dame 15-12, second-seeded Columbia 15-12 and third-ranked Ohio State 18-9, while gaining victories over Yale (20-7), Wayne State (18-9) and NYU (24-3). The Wildcats head into the weekend holding the advantage in the all-time series against NYU (8-1), Wayne State (27-15) and Yale (4-1), but trail in the series with the Irish (9-36), Buckeyes (16-27) and Lions (3-6).
Northwestern returns home next weekend, hosting the second installment of the NU Duals Sat., Jan 31, and Sun., Feb. 1, at the Sports and Aquatic Center (SPAC).
USFCA College Fencing Coaches Poll
1. Penn State
2. Notre Dame
3. Ohio State
4. Columbia-Barnard
5. Harvard
6. Northwestern
7. Princeton
8. Temple
9. Pennsylvania
10. Duke