Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Midwest Regionals
Florendo Leads NU at Regional Championships
3/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Fencing
March 14, 2004
Men's and Women's Final Results
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EVANSTON, Ill.--Freshman Jessica Florendo (Forest Hills, N.Y./The Dwight School) took second place in foil to lead Northwestern's sixth-ranked women's fencing team at the Midwest Regional Championships at SPAC.
"We had great performances from our foil and epee squads," said head coach Laurie Schiller. "The competition here was very good; I am pleased we were able to lock up some spots for the NCAAs."
Florendo, seeded sixth, fell 5-3 to two-time defending NCAA champion and No. 2 seed Alicja Kryczalo of Notre Dame in the first-place match. Florendo finished the day with a 13-2 record.
"I was fencing really well, and I thought I could have defeated Alicja," said Florendo. "I think she was a little more fired up after I beat her (5-1) in the third round.
"I think the most important thing for me was to make sure I could qualify for the NCAA Championships, and I since I did, I am happy."
Fellow foilist Julia Foldi (Budapest, Hungary/Szent Istavan Gimnazium), seeded fourth, was close behind, ending up in fourth. The junior will join Florendo at the NCAA tournament.
In sabre, No. 7 seed Lauren Van Gieson (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) had NU's best showing by notching seventh with her five wins. Junior classmate Lauren Dunn (Fair Oaks, Calif./Del Campo), seeded No. 9, followed at eighth.
Sophomore Sharon Sullivan (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) had an outstanding performance, taking fourth in epee. The No. 7 seed has a good chance to clinch a postseason berth, which would give Northwestern a total of three qualifiers.
The NCAA will announce the field for the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 18. The tournament will take place March 25-28 at Brandeis in Waltham, Mass.
