EVANSTON, Ill. – No. 9 Northwestern continues its postseason on Saturday at the NCAA Midwest Regionals at Cleveland State University, as twelve Wildcats look to secure berths in the NCAA Championships.
In sabre, Alexis Browne, Maddy Curzon, Abby Tartell and Emine Yücel will represent the 'Cats, while Justine Banbury, Yvonne Chart, Sarah Filby and Amy Jia will do so in foil. Marta Amador Molina, Pauline Hamilton, Anya Harkness and Katie Van Riper will round out the field in the epee competition.
Live results for the weekend can be found here.
The format of the Regionals is a round-robin among all the fencers within a specific weapon group, with the point differential in bouts factoring into final rankings. The top four finishers in sabre, top six in foil and top five finishers in epee will qualify for the NCAA Championships at Penn State from Mar. 22-25.
Since 2010, Northwestern has sent six fencers to the NCAA Championships once, five fencers four times, and four fencers two times. The high mark of six came in 2015.
Last year at this event, Northwestern had nine fencers compete with Pauline Hamilton leading the way with a third-place finish in epee. Hamilton was one of two fencers to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
The Wildcats are in the closing stages of an already-historic season in head coach Zach Moss' second year. The team set the program record for wins in a season with 47, and also embarked on a 25-match winning streak, the longest in program history.
In the first event of the postseason, Northwestern took home its fifth Midwest Fencing Conference Championship at Ohio State two weeks ago. The title was the second in the last three years, with the other three coming in a row from 1999-2001. The sabre and foil squads each captured their fifth weapon titles, with sabre taking its first title since 2016 and foil collecting its first since 2012.
In sabre, Alexis Browne has already made her mark as a first-year, finishing second in the individual competition at MFCs and winning 37 bouts including the deciding point against Ohio State in the team sabre final.
Curzon is no stranger to the Midwest Regionals and is looking to post her best finish her third time around after finishing 11th last year and eighth in her rookie campaign. Curzon has 39 wins this season and is the active #B1GCats leader in wins with 154.
Tartell will compete in her first sabre Regionals as a sophomore, and is coming off an impressive third-place finish in the individual event at MFCs. Tartell has a 72-28 career mark after winning 36 bouts in both of her campaigns.
Yücel finished sixth at the Midwest Regionals last year and with 55 wins came close to an NCAA berth. This season, she has 48 wins and a quarterfinalist appearance at the MFC sabre event.
Both Banbury and Filby will fence in their first regional, but the two first-years have been impact contributors for the revamped foil squad. Filby took second and Banbury took third at the individual foil MFC competition, and the two have combined for a 72-28 record this season.
Chart has fenced in two Regionals already and will try to build on her eighth-place finish last year which was two spots better than her first-year effort. The junior has 44 wins the season and has the third most career victories on the team with 144.
Jia's foil Regional will be her first and she improved on her 24-4 mark from last season to fence in 22 more bouts this year while winning nine more overall.
Hamilton is the only current Wildcat with an appearance at the NCAA Championships, after finishing 15th in the nation last year after her third-place finish in her first regional. Hamilton is the only sophomore in the 100-win club on the team after winning 49 bouts this season.
Amador Molina and Harkness complete the youth movement for the 'Cats, which features five first-years in the regionals, and three sophomores as well. Amador Molina finished third at the MFC individual epee competition while Harkness took fifth.
Van Riper also took home a third-place finish at the MFCs and is trying to finish her distinguished Wildcat career with a bang. The senior has 149 wins, the second-most on the team, and previously finished seventh in her first regional last season.
To stay updated with the #B1GCats on Saturday, follow @NUWFencing on Twitter for live updates and Northwestern Fencing on Facebook for more.
In sabre, Alexis Browne, Maddy Curzon, Abby Tartell and Emine Yücel will represent the 'Cats, while Justine Banbury, Yvonne Chart, Sarah Filby and Amy Jia will do so in foil. Marta Amador Molina, Pauline Hamilton, Anya Harkness and Katie Van Riper will round out the field in the epee competition.
Live results for the weekend can be found here.
The format of the Regionals is a round-robin among all the fencers within a specific weapon group, with the point differential in bouts factoring into final rankings. The top four finishers in sabre, top six in foil and top five finishers in epee will qualify for the NCAA Championships at Penn State from Mar. 22-25.
Since 2010, Northwestern has sent six fencers to the NCAA Championships once, five fencers four times, and four fencers two times. The high mark of six came in 2015.
Last year at this event, Northwestern had nine fencers compete with Pauline Hamilton leading the way with a third-place finish in epee. Hamilton was one of two fencers to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
The Wildcats are in the closing stages of an already-historic season in head coach Zach Moss' second year. The team set the program record for wins in a season with 47, and also embarked on a 25-match winning streak, the longest in program history.
In the first event of the postseason, Northwestern took home its fifth Midwest Fencing Conference Championship at Ohio State two weeks ago. The title was the second in the last three years, with the other three coming in a row from 1999-2001. The sabre and foil squads each captured their fifth weapon titles, with sabre taking its first title since 2016 and foil collecting its first since 2012.
In sabre, Alexis Browne has already made her mark as a first-year, finishing second in the individual competition at MFCs and winning 37 bouts including the deciding point against Ohio State in the team sabre final.
Curzon is no stranger to the Midwest Regionals and is looking to post her best finish her third time around after finishing 11th last year and eighth in her rookie campaign. Curzon has 39 wins this season and is the active #B1GCats leader in wins with 154.
Tartell will compete in her first sabre Regionals as a sophomore, and is coming off an impressive third-place finish in the individual event at MFCs. Tartell has a 72-28 career mark after winning 36 bouts in both of her campaigns.
Yücel finished sixth at the Midwest Regionals last year and with 55 wins came close to an NCAA berth. This season, she has 48 wins and a quarterfinalist appearance at the MFC sabre event.
Both Banbury and Filby will fence in their first regional, but the two first-years have been impact contributors for the revamped foil squad. Filby took second and Banbury took third at the individual foil MFC competition, and the two have combined for a 72-28 record this season.
Chart has fenced in two Regionals already and will try to build on her eighth-place finish last year which was two spots better than her first-year effort. The junior has 44 wins the season and has the third most career victories on the team with 144.
Jia's foil Regional will be her first and she improved on her 24-4 mark from last season to fence in 22 more bouts this year while winning nine more overall.
Hamilton is the only current Wildcat with an appearance at the NCAA Championships, after finishing 15th in the nation last year after her third-place finish in her first regional. Hamilton is the only sophomore in the 100-win club on the team after winning 49 bouts this season.
Amador Molina and Harkness complete the youth movement for the 'Cats, which features five first-years in the regionals, and three sophomores as well. Amador Molina finished third at the MFC individual epee competition while Harkness took fifth.
Van Riper also took home a third-place finish at the MFCs and is trying to finish her distinguished Wildcat career with a bang. The senior has 149 wins, the second-most on the team, and previously finished seventh in her first regional last season.
To stay updated with the #B1GCats on Saturday, follow @NUWFencing on Twitter for live updates and Northwestern Fencing on Facebook for more.