Northwestern University Athletics
The 2002-03 Fencing Outlook
10/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Fencing
Oct. 15, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Laurie Schiller may have lost 11 seniors to graduation and a first-team All-American on a team that went 26-3, but Northwestern still has something pretty important working in its favor.
"Northwestern has a recognized name when it comes to fencing, and we're going to keep it that way," said Schiller, who enters his 25th season with the Wildcats. "I think we'll have a fine season again."
With two second-team All-Americans back from last season and a young nucleus, Schiller's squad should be able to make good on his promise.
Julia F?ldi, who hails from Budapest, Hungary, returns as the Wildcats' top foilist. F?ldi finished eighth at the NCAA Championships last season as a freshman and ended the year with a 82-16 record. F?ldi started the season with a 25-bout winning streak and a first-place finish at the North American Cups Dallas event. Her first loss of the season came against Stanford's Iris Zimmerman, a two-time world champion.
Lauren Dunn finished eighth in the NCAA in sabre with a 72-24 mark. Both fencers are geared for another strong year.
Lauren Van Gieson, another sabreist, was also on pace to reach the NCAA Championships before tearing her ACL. She still managed to post a 50-14 record, and Schiller said he expects her, along with Dunn and F?ldi, to improve on their success.
"Lauren Van Gieson is now fully healthy after a good offseason rehab program," Schiller said. "Overall, the team had a good offseason. Everybody knows they have to step it up to help replace the fencers we lost from last season."
The sabre squad might be the strength of this year's team. Last season, they finished fourth in the Midwest Conference, while the foil team finished second and the ep?eists took home first. With Dunn and Van Gieson back and the addition of freshman Emily Pasternak, the sabreists have a legitimate shot at taking the Midwest Conference title. Pasternak comes to Northwestern from nearby Wilmette, Ill., where she won the Midwest High School championship and was named most valuable girls' sabre at New Trier High School.
"With the addition of Emily Pasternak, we have the ability to become a really strong sabre team," Schiller said. "We have the most depth there from top to bottom. We feel we can compete with anybody at any position, though."
Christina Wang is another freshman expected to come in and contribute on the foil squad. Wang, like Pasternak, has a long fencing history and has been consistently ranked in the top 20 of the Junior National Point listings. She also got the opportunity to fence against F?ldi, who spent much of her summer training for the Junior World Cup.
The ep?e squad took the hardest hit, losing all three of its starters. Kelsey Nencheck returns as the ep?e captain after going 16-7. Schiller said he also expects to get a boost from freshman Sharon Sullivan, who won the 2002 Gold Medal for the Northwest Fencing Club in New York.
Pin Chen, a foilist, is the only senior on a team expected to add several walk-ons for more depth. Chen went 6-1 in limited action last year but is expected to make strides this season, along with Melissa Dattalo.
"The team chemistry will be completely different," Schiller said. "The seniors carried us last year. They had been here for a while. They were our first scholarship class, but now they're gone.
"This year we have a lot of freshmen and sophomores. As for who our leaders will be, that's to be determined. But I am already starting to see signs. My system has always been to work as a team to be as excellent as we can, and we will continue to do that."
And with that Schiller, who recently earned his fencing masters from the United States Fencing Coaches' Association, leads one of NU's most successful programs into what could be its next step-winning the women's championship.
"My goal over the next few years is to have a team strong enough to win the unofficial NCAA women's championship," Schiller said. "Our women finished sixth last year, so I don't see any reason why we won't be able to.
"Of course, we can't win the official championships without a men's team. But if we come in first place for the women, then that's a championship for me."
