Northwestern University Athletics
Another Banner Year For Northwestern Fencing
5/1/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Fencing
May 1, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - The All-America honors continue to pile up for the Northwestern women's fencing team.
The 2001-02 season saw three Wildcats finish among the top eight at the NCAA Championships and thus earn All-America status-junior Kate Rudkin (Boulder, Colo./Boulder) took third in ep?e, freshman Julia F?ldi (Budapest, Hungary/Szent Istv?n Gimn?zium) placed eighth in foil and freshman Lauren Dunn (Sacramento, Calif./Del Camp) finished eighth in sabre.
Perhaps more importantly, NU's four qualifiers-senior Kristen Dorf (St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Academy), a four-time NCAA qualifier, took 15th in foil-combined to place sixth among women's teams at the national championships, the program's highest finish ever. In its final poll, the United States Fencing Coaches Association ranked Northwestern fourth, tied with Ohio State.
The season began with the potential for a fourth consecutive Midwest Collegiate Fencing Conference title for the 'Cats, which would be one championship for each year the seniors have participated. The Class of 2002 represents a milestone in itself; it is the first recruiting class which head coach Laurie Schiller was able to offer full scholarships to.
But a fourth conference title was not to be for the team, which finished second while still upholding the Wildcats' lofty standard of finishing in the top two for the last five years.
The ep?e squad, led by Rudkin and senior Jen Greenebaum (Mendham, N.J./Pingry School) took first place; the foil squad placed second; and the sabre squad, hampered by a knee injury to starter Lauren Van Gieson (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley), finished fourth.
For the ep?e squad, it was the third first-place finish in four years. During the championships, Rudkin defeated Notre Dame's Kerry Walton, 5-3, to move the 'Cats past the Irish and into the final, where they blanked Ohio State 5-0. Greenebaum went 6-0 during the tournament to secure the title for the ep?eists.
The foil squad could not defend its 2001 title and placed second, dropping 5-3 in the final to Notre Dame. To reach the final, the squad defeated both Michigan and Michigan State 5-0.
The Midwest Collegiate Fencing Conference Championships was the finale to another successful regular season for the fencers. Schiller guided the 'Cats to a 26-3 regular-season record in which they defeated opponents by an average margin of almost 13 points. The ep?e squad posted a 30-2 record, foil was 29-3 and sabre finished 27-5.
During his 24th season as head coach, Schiller picked up career victory No. 750 with a 25-2 win over Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 2 at the Air Force Invitational.
While competing at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, the team-which was ranked No. 6 at the time-defeated both No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 4 Stanford en route to an undefeated weekend.
The following weekend, ND returned the favor and beat the 'Cats at the Ohio State Duals. Northwestern's loss to the Irish and host Buckeyes at the duals, in addition to an earlier loss to Temple at the NU Duals, made up the only three blemishes of the regular season record.
After an emotionally intense day at the conference's team championships, NU placed more fencers in the top 10 of each weapon than any other school at the Midwest Fencing Conference Individual Championships. F?ldi was the highest-placing Wildcat, taking second, and Greenebaum finished fourth.
NU also placed nine total fencers in the top ten of each weapon at the Midwest Regionals. The regionals are the gateway to NCAA qualification-Rudkin placed second in ep?e, Dunn took fifth in sabre, and F?ldi and Dorf took sixth and seventh in foil to qualify.
Individually this season, Rudkin picked up her third All-America honor at the NCAA Championships before deciding not to rejoin the fencing team for her senior year. The highly-decorated junior ends her career with a 273-46 record, an .855 winning percentage, and is fourth on NU's career ep?e wins list.
Greenebaum moved into second place on the same list, ending her four years with a 308-122 record. After finishing eighth in ep?e at the regional competition, she was listed as an alternate for the NCAA Championships but did not get to compete.
Senior sabre captain Kate Frambach (Elm Grove, Wis./Catholic Memorial) was also an alternate for the national competition but ended her career at the regionals, where she took sixth. Frambach's career record stands at 170-101, placing her second on the career wins list for sabre.
Senior foil captain Maggie Kebrdle (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph's) ended her injury-riddled campaign with 215 career wins and is ninth on the all-time foil wins list. Kebrdle placed ninth at regionals this year while struggling with a hip injury.
Overall captain Lynn Zuckerman (Wyckoff, N.J./Ramapo), also a senior, departs with an overall record of 118-83 after posting a 27-22 mark this season. It was Zuckerman's 5-4 win over Notre Dame's Megan Call at Air Force that secured NU's victory.
While the team is graduating 11 fencers, three standouts from this season provide hope for the future. F?ldi started the season off with a 25-0 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. The freshman posted the best individual record on the team at 82-16 (0.836).
Two additional first-year Wildcats, saberists Dunn and Van Gieson, also turned in impressive records. Dunn ended the season with a 72-24 record through the NCAA Championships, and Van Gieson posted a 50-13 mark before tearing her anterior cruciate ligament and ending any chance of an NCAA bid.
At the awards banquet held April 8, Schiller presented Greenebaum with the Most Valuable Fencer Award in recognition of her four years of success. F?ldi was given the Rookie Award, while senior Marijke Weldon (Gainesville, Ga./Lakeview Academy) received the Most Improved Award. The Janel Obenchain 110% Award, named for a former Wildcat fencer, was presented to senior Margaret Ruf (Pewaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial).
Zuckerman, Dunn and senior Laurel Scherffius (Charlotte, N.C./Northwest School of the Arts) all received Coaches Awards, while seniors Sarah Salomon (South Orange, N.J./Columbia), Meghan Magill (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) and Nora Mueller (Arlington Heights, Ill./Loyola Academy) got Recognition Awards.
On the academic side, freshman Katie Hoemann (El Dorado Hills, Calif./El Dorado) received the award for the highest overall grade point average, while Scherffius was awarded for having the highest GPA during the fencing season.
The team voted on captains for the 2002-03 season-Melissa Dattalo (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South) and Haina Shin (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) will take over where Zuckerman leaves off.
