KANSAS CITY, Mo. (January 7, 2024) – Amanda Pirkowski brought home a runner-up finish in the Division I Women's Epee to highlight Northwestern fencing's stay at USA Fencing's January North American Cup (NAC).
After splitting her six pool bouts, Pirkowksi went on a dream run through the tableau to secure her spot on the podium. The graduate student rattled six consecutive wins, all of which came against higher-seeded opposition, to book her spot in the final, where she ultimately dropped a tightly contested 15-12 decision to second-seeded Kasia Nixon. Pirkowski knocked off two of the event's top eight seeds, including a thrilling 15-14 win over No. 5 Alexandra Rakhovski in the semifinals.
Competing in the Division I Women's Sabre, Alex Chen and Nisha Hild each finished inside the top 50. After both picked up four pool bout wins, Chen (40th) scored a 15-11 triumph to advance to the Round of 64, while Hild (44th) posted a 15-7 victory to match her sophomore counterpart.
A full listing of Northwestern's results from the January NAC follows.
Division I Women's Epee
2nd – Amanda Pirkowski
Division I Women's Foil
118th – Samantha Serban
Division I Women's Sabre
40th – Alex Chen
44th – Nisha Hild
68th – Adele Bois
102nd – Kira Erikson
118th – Megumi Oishi
131st – Amy Lu
133rd – Kailing Sathyanath
UP NEXT
Northwestern resumes dual competition on Sunday, January 12 when it travels to Medford, Mass. for the Tufts Invitational.
After splitting her six pool bouts, Pirkowksi went on a dream run through the tableau to secure her spot on the podium. The graduate student rattled six consecutive wins, all of which came against higher-seeded opposition, to book her spot in the final, where she ultimately dropped a tightly contested 15-12 decision to second-seeded Kasia Nixon. Pirkowski knocked off two of the event's top eight seeds, including a thrilling 15-14 win over No. 5 Alexandra Rakhovski in the semifinals.
Competing in the Division I Women's Sabre, Alex Chen and Nisha Hild each finished inside the top 50. After both picked up four pool bout wins, Chen (40th) scored a 15-11 triumph to advance to the Round of 64, while Hild (44th) posted a 15-7 victory to match her sophomore counterpart.
A full listing of Northwestern's results from the January NAC follows.
Division I Women's Epee
2nd – Amanda Pirkowski
Division I Women's Foil
118th – Samantha Serban
Division I Women's Sabre
40th – Alex Chen
44th – Nisha Hild
68th – Adele Bois
102nd – Kira Erikson
118th – Megumi Oishi
131st – Amy Lu
133rd – Kailing Sathyanath
UP NEXT
Northwestern resumes dual competition on Sunday, January 12 when it travels to Medford, Mass. for the Tufts Invitational.