Northwestern
NCAA Championships
NU Claims Sixth at NCAA Championships
3/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Fencing
March 26, 2004
Results from Day 2
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WALTHAM, Mass.--Foilist Julia F?ldi (Budapest, Hungary/Szent Istavan Gimnazium) earned her third-consecutive All-America honor in leading Northwestern's women's fencing team to its best showing at the NCAA Championships since 2000, as it captured sixth place in the women's division with 50 team points.
"I thought we did great," said head coach Laurie Schiller. "Now that it is finished, I am happy. Our team fenced well; nobody had less than seven wins, which is good."
F?ldi, with her eighth-place performance from 15 wins and a +23 indicator, led her teammates again en route to second-team All-America status. Her finish matched her output from 2002, when she also took eighth.
"Julia was amazing out there," said Schiller. "She is incredibly steady and always able to produce."
Squadmate Jessica Florendo (Forest Hills, N.Y./The Dwight School) nabbed13th with 12 wins and a -2 indicator. She missed All-America honors (12th place or higher) by just five touches.
In sabre, Lauren Van Gieson (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) was one win away from 12th place; instead, she ended up14th from her nine wins and -7 indicator. Van Gieson was followed by fellow sabreist Mai Vu (New York, N.Y./Bronx Science), whose seven wins and -26 indicator put her in 19th.
Closing out competition for NU was Sharon Sullivan (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport), who fell a bit from last year's 14th-place performance, notching 21st with seven wins and a -10 indicator.
In the team race, Ohio State unseated defending champion Notre Dame with a 97-96 edge in points. With this year's finish, the Wildcats were able to beat their eighth-place standing from a year ago.
The remaining two days of competition will be for the men's teams. Northwestern's best combined finish happened in 2000, when it was ninth.
Indicators are calculated by touches scored minus touches received. They are the first tiebreaker in case two fencers have the same number of wins.
