Jan. 18, 2010
USFA North American Cup Results
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Northwestern wrapped up a successful weekend at the USFA North American Cup, earning both team and individual honors during the four-day tournament. All three weapons finished among the top-two in team competition while eight 'Cats placed among the top-50 at the national tournament in their respective divisions.
Among the team competition, the epée squad finished first among 11 teams, defeating the Los Angeles International Fencing Center for the gold medal. Both the foil and sabre teams finished second out of five teams in their respective weapons to nab silvers.
Individually, the weekend was highlighted by senior Christa French (Southlake, Texas/Carroll) who finished third out of 142 competitors in the Division I women's epeé, earning her 2010 "A" rating. Fellow senior Joanna Niklinska (Granger, Ind./Penn) placed 30th while freshman Karalina Collins (Houston, Texas/Waltrip) finished 32nd among the Division I competitors and 13th in the Junior Division.
Freshman Dayana Sarkisova (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central) posted Northwestern's other top-10 finish, placing ninth in the foil Junior Division out of 115 fencers. Sophomore Devynn Patterson (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt) also notched a top-20 finish, placing 17th, with sophomore Camille Provencal (St. Paul, Minn./Central) finishing 29th. Provencal also made her mark in Division I, leading the 'Cats with a 27th-place showing.
Freshmen Alicia Gurrieri (Medford, N.J./Moorestown Friends) and Chloe Grainger (Decatur, Ga./Decatur) were the top Wildcat finishers in the Division I women's sabre, placing 57th and 58th respectively. Senior Allie Keller (Concord, Mass./Concord-Carlisle Regional) finished 68th out of 92 competitors in the weapon. Grainger and Gurrieri also made their mark in the Junior Division, finishing 13th and 26th respectively.
After a weekend on the west coast, Northwestern now heads cross-country to the east coast to compete in the NYU Duals this Saturday, Jan. 23. The weekend should prove to be a special one for head coach Laurie Schiller, who enters Saturday with an overall record of 999-412 and needs just one win to become a member of the exclusive 1,000-victory club. The Wildcats will face their toughest field of the season, however, with conference rivals Notre Dame, Ohio State and Wayne State joining NYU, Columbia, St. John's and Yale among the teams expected to compete.