EVANSTON, Ill. – No. 8 Northwestern sits just six wins away from the program record for wins in a season and hosts the NU Duals this weekend in South Bend, Ind. against the top teams in the country.
Northwestern is 39-5 this season under head coach Zach Moss and is chasing the record set in 2009-10, when the 'Cats went 45-4 under then-head coach Laurie Schiller. The Wildcats have already collected a 25-match win streak this season, the longest in program history.
Due to ongoing construction at the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion, Northwestern will hold its home meet at the Castellan Family Fencing Center at Notre Dame for the third straight season.
The Wildcats will face twelve opponents over two days, fencing against Stanford, No. 4 Princeton, No. 7 Temple, Incarnate Word, Wayne State and No. 1 Notre Dame on Saturday, and UC San Diego, Duke, No. 5 Ohio State, North Carolina, Lawrence and Caltech on Sunday, all in that order.
In addition to the four ranked teams, the Blue Devils and Tar Heels are receiving the first and second most votes outside of the top ten in the latest College Fencing 360 Coaches' Poll. The Tritons and the Cardinal are receiving votes as well.
Northwestern is coming off a 10-1 showing at the DeCicco Duals last weekend in South Bend, defeating all opponents except for the hosting Fighting Irish, the top team in the country. First year Zhesi Zhuang led the team with 18 wins in sabre, as Shirley Luong posted 15 wins in epee. Her squad-mate Tolley had 16 while first year Sofia Simontov notched the most wins in foil, with 12.
On Saturday, ahead of the contest with Wayne State, NU will honor its senior class of Kaila Budofsky, Anna Tolley, Lucia Procopio, Sacha Bazzal, Stefani Kahookele, Katie Van Riper, Michelle Lee and Sydney Larrier.
The Class of 2018 has combined for 608 total wins and Bazzal and Van Riper are members of the 100-win club at Northwestern, along with four other active Wildcats. Tolley needs six wins this weekend to join them.
The Purple and White have squared off against ten of their opponents already this season, and have yet to compete against only Duke and Lawrence. The Wildcats are looking for revenge against the Blue Devils, who defeated NU, 18-9, in the last match of the regular season last year at their home invitational. The 'Cats bested Lawrence, 23-4, last season at the DeCicco Duals.
The #B1GCats matched up against Wayne State and Notre Dame last weekend at the DeCicco Duals, coasting by the Warriors, 22-5, but falling to the hosts, 17-10.
Northwestern defeated Temple in their home city at the Philadelphia Invitational, 16-11, behind a 7-2 performance from foil.
The 'Cats felled Stanford, Incarnate Word and UC San Diego as a part of their sweep of the Western Invitational in the middle of January.
At the season opening Elite Invitational back in November, NU defeated the hosts Ohio State, 15-12, but dropped tight contests to UNC and Princeton. The Tar Heels split the series last season with the 'Cats winning at its duals but falling in Durham, N.C., while Princeton won both meeting last year, although the two fenced to a thrilling 14-13 decision at the NU Duals.
Northwestern is 39-5 this season under head coach Zach Moss and is chasing the record set in 2009-10, when the 'Cats went 45-4 under then-head coach Laurie Schiller. The Wildcats have already collected a 25-match win streak this season, the longest in program history.
Due to ongoing construction at the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion, Northwestern will hold its home meet at the Castellan Family Fencing Center at Notre Dame for the third straight season.
The Wildcats will face twelve opponents over two days, fencing against Stanford, No. 4 Princeton, No. 7 Temple, Incarnate Word, Wayne State and No. 1 Notre Dame on Saturday, and UC San Diego, Duke, No. 5 Ohio State, North Carolina, Lawrence and Caltech on Sunday, all in that order.
In addition to the four ranked teams, the Blue Devils and Tar Heels are receiving the first and second most votes outside of the top ten in the latest College Fencing 360 Coaches' Poll. The Tritons and the Cardinal are receiving votes as well.
Northwestern is coming off a 10-1 showing at the DeCicco Duals last weekend in South Bend, defeating all opponents except for the hosting Fighting Irish, the top team in the country. First year Zhesi Zhuang led the team with 18 wins in sabre, as Shirley Luong posted 15 wins in epee. Her squad-mate Tolley had 16 while first year Sofia Simontov notched the most wins in foil, with 12.
On Saturday, ahead of the contest with Wayne State, NU will honor its senior class of Kaila Budofsky, Anna Tolley, Lucia Procopio, Sacha Bazzal, Stefani Kahookele, Katie Van Riper, Michelle Lee and Sydney Larrier.
The Class of 2018 has combined for 608 total wins and Bazzal and Van Riper are members of the 100-win club at Northwestern, along with four other active Wildcats. Tolley needs six wins this weekend to join them.
The Purple and White have squared off against ten of their opponents already this season, and have yet to compete against only Duke and Lawrence. The Wildcats are looking for revenge against the Blue Devils, who defeated NU, 18-9, in the last match of the regular season last year at their home invitational. The 'Cats bested Lawrence, 23-4, last season at the DeCicco Duals.
The #B1GCats matched up against Wayne State and Notre Dame last weekend at the DeCicco Duals, coasting by the Warriors, 22-5, but falling to the hosts, 17-10.
Northwestern defeated Temple in their home city at the Philadelphia Invitational, 16-11, behind a 7-2 performance from foil.
The 'Cats felled Stanford, Incarnate Word and UC San Diego as a part of their sweep of the Western Invitational in the middle of January.
At the season opening Elite Invitational back in November, NU defeated the hosts Ohio State, 15-12, but dropped tight contests to UNC and Princeton. The Tar Heels split the series last season with the 'Cats winning at its duals but falling in Durham, N.C., while Princeton won both meeting last year, although the two fenced to a thrilling 14-13 decision at the NU Duals.