EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern has reached the postseason and the Wildcats take the first step in that journey Saturday when they host the Midwest Fencing Conference Championship at the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 21.
The Wildcats wrapped up the dual portion of the schedule a few weeks ago with an overall record of 38-7. Northwestern, currently ranked No. 7 in the CollegeFencing360.com coaches poll, posted several thrilling wins along the way, including victories over top-10 teams such as Ohio State, Penn and Temple. The 'Cats have won at least 30 matches every season since the 2004-05 campaign.
Northwestern annually performs quite well at the Midwest Fencing Conference Championship as evidenced by the fact that head coach Laurie Schiller's teams have finished no lower than third every year since 1993-94. The Wildcats have claimed three MFC team championships, with the most recent coming during the 2000-01 campaign.
The Northwestern Wildcats have won 11 weapon titles since 1996, most recently in 2012 when the foil squad memorably defeated Ohio State, 5-4, in the final round. NU fencers have also won 11 individual gold medals since 1994, including Dina Bazarbayeva's hardware a year ago at Notre Dame. An individual tournament will not be held in conjunction with the MFC Championship this year.
Fifth-ranked Ohio State and the seventh-ranked Wildcats remain the Midwest Fencing Conference's top two teams. The pair split two matches this season with Northwestern pulling out a thrilling 14-13 victory, at the NYU Invitational on Jan. 25. Epée fencer Kaitlyn Wallace won the final bout against Maj Shaito of the Buckeyes. OSU avenged that loss with a 15-12 triumph less than a week later on the first day of the NU Duals.
Admission is free to the Midwest Fencing Conference Championship. There will be Northwestern fencing prizes for fans and the #B1GCats will provide free pizza at 4:30 p.m. prior to the women's epée final match. Please click here for driving directions to the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion.
MFC Championship Start Times:
Men's epée: 9 a.m.
Women's foil: 9 a.m.
Men's sabre: 9 a.m.
Men's foil: Noon
Women's sabre: Noon
Women's epée: 1 p.m.
Final Match Start Times:
Men's sabre: 12:30 p.m.
Men's epée: 1:15 p.m.
Women's foil: 2 p.m.
Women's sabre: 3 p.m.
Men's foil: 4 p.m.
Women's epée: 5 p.m.
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