Seven ‘Cats Claim Top-25 Finishes At Season-Opening October NAC

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (October 9, 2025) – Led by an impressive debut from Nisha Hild, seven Wildcats took home top-25 finishes as Northwestern fencing opened its 2024-25 season over the weekend at USA Fencing's October North American Cup (NAC) in Atlantic City, N.J.

Making her first appearance for the 'Cats, Hild dazzled inside the Atlantic City Convention Center. Competing in the junior women's sabre, the Holliston, Mass. native rattled off six straight wins in pool action ahead of picking up four wins in the tableau to secure her spot on the podium, placing fifth overall. Hild, who also took 24^th in the Division I side of the event, was joined in the top 25 in the event by fellow first-year Natalie Shearer, who took 17^th.

First-year Kira Erikson led Northwestern in the Division I women's sabre. Like Hild, Erikson raced through her pool bouts with a 6-0 record before notching a pair of victories in the tableau en route to a 17^th-place finish.

Graduate student Amanda Pirkowski, another Wildcat debutant, narrowly missed out on a podium finish in the Division I women's epee. Following a spotless run through her six pool bouts, Pirkowski was victorious in three head-to-head matchups in the tableau to earn ninth place. The pairing of Emma Ning and Athina Kwon also secured spots in the top 25, placing 15^th and 21^st, respectively.

Brianna Ho paced Northwestern's foilists on the weekend, finishing 58^th in the junior section of the event. After closing pool action with a 4-2 ledger, Ho scored an upset win over No. 49 Zizi Dai, 15-11, in the second round of the tableau.

A full listing of Northwestern results from the October NAC follows.

Division I Women's Epee
9^th Amanda Pirkowski
15^th Emma Ning
21^st Athina Kwon
77^th Karen Wang
81^st Anna Damratoski
111^stAva Wade-Currie
141^st Christina Liu

Junior Women's Epee
69^thAva Wade-Currie
81^st Emma Ning
166^th Christina Liu

Division I Women's Foil
67^th Samantha Serban
79^th Brianna Ho
88^th Rowan Park

Junior Women's Foil
58^th Brianna Ho

Division I Women's Sabre
17^th Kira Erikson
24^th Nisha Hild
27^th Alex Chen
36^th Natalie Shearer
78^th Kailing Sathyanath
89^th Megumi Oishi
135^th Amy Lu

Junior Women's Sabre
5^th Nisha Hild
17^th Natalie Shearer
74^th Alex Chen
94^th Amy Lu

UP NEXT
Northwestern makes it 2024-25 home debut this weekend, October 12-13, hosting the Remenyik ROC/RJCC inside Ryan Fieldhouse. Admission to both days of action is free of charge.

Seven ‘Cats Claim Top-25 Finishes At Season-Opening October NAC

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Players Mentioned

Alex Chen

Anna Damratoski

Kira Erikson

Nisha Hild

Brianna Ho

Athina Kwon

Christina Liu

Amy Lu

Emma Ning

Megumi Oishi

Rowan Park

Amanda Pirkowski

Kailing Sathyanath

Samantha Serban

Natalie Shearer

Ava Wade-Currie

Karen Wang

Northwestern University Athletics