Jan. 30, 2010
Northwestern Duals Schedule/Results
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Fifth-ranked Northwestern got off to a strong start in the opening day of the 2010 NU Duals, posting a 6-1 record at the Sports and Aquatic Center (SPAC). The Wildcats improve to 20-3 in dual meet competitions this season, including a 6-3 mark against ranked foes.
Northwestern opened up the day with a convincing 23-4 decision over Johns Hopkins, thanks to a perfect 9-0 record from the sabre squad and an 8-1 outing from the foil. The Wildcats carried that momentum against North Carolina, running past the Tar Heels 19-8 behind a 7-2 record from both the epee and foil teams. The bout against UNC proved to be a historic one as it pitted both the sport's 1,000-victory coaches against each other (Northwestern's Laurie Schiller and North Carolina's Ron Miller).
The Wildcats then prepared for a pair of bouts against nationally-ranked foes, beginning with seventh-ranked Temple. NU was strong in all three weapons, holding off the Owls for a 17-10 victory. But the five-match win streak came to an end against ninth-ranked Princeton as the Tigers handed the Wildcats a 16-11 defeat, gaining the upper hand in all three weapons.
Northwestern quickly returned to its winning ways, capturing the final three bouts of the afternoon against Midwest Conference opponents. The Wildcats roared past Wayne State 18-9, thumped Cleveland State 26-1 and breezed past Detroit 25-2 to close out the afternoon.
Individually, it was Northwestern's sabre squad that came through big on the day as senior Allie Keller (Concord, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) and junior Jill Mahen (Chester, N.J./Mendham) each led the Wildcats with eight victories on the day, followed by seven each from the freshman duo of Chloe Grainger (Decatur, Ga./Decatur) and Alicia Gurrieri (Medford, N.J./Moorestown Friends). Sophomores Devynn Patterson (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt) and Camille Provencal (St. Paul, Minn./Central) paced the foil squads with six wins a piece while senior Kayley French (Southlake, Texas/Carroll) added six victories for the epee team. Christa French (Southlake, Texas/Carroll) had five wins as well.
Northwestern returns to the strips at SPAC at 8 a.m. Sunday morning with six more bouts at the NU Duals. The Wildcats open up Sunday with Stanford and UC San Diego before facing Duke and sixth-ranked Ohio State. NU then closes out the two-day tournament against Cal Tech and Fairleigh Dickinson.
Northwestern Duals Results - Day One
Northwestern 23, Johns Hopkins 4
Epee: 6-3; Foil: 8-1; Sabre 9-0
Northwestern 19, North Carolina 8
Epee: 7-2; Foil: 7-2; Sabre 5-4
Northwestern 17, Temple 10
Epee: 6-3; Foil: 6-3; Sabre 5-4
Princeton 16, Northwestern 11
Epee: 3-6; Foil: 4-5; Sabre 4-5
Northwestern 18, Wayne State 9
Epee: 3-6; Foil: 7-2; Sabre 8-1
Northwestern 26, Cleveland State 1
Epee: 8-1; Foil: 9-0; Sabre 9-0
Northwestern 25, Detroit 2
Epee: 9-0; Foil: 7-2; Sabre 9-0