Northwestern University Athletics
Women's Fencing Inks Five to National Letters of Intent
11/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Fencing
Nov. 17, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern head coach Laurie Schiller announced the signing of five student-athletes to National Letters of Intent today. Sisters Kayley and Christa French, Meredith Baskies, Karolyn Szot and Whitney White will join the Wildcats next season as members of the 2010 class.
Kayley and Christa French, epée:
Kayley and Christa are twins from Carroll High School in South Lake Texas. They fence for Golden Blade and have been on the Cadet World team. Christa is currently ranked 3rd and Kayley 7th in Juniors (under 20 years old).
"Kayley and Christa are very important signees for our program," said Schiller. "They are two of the top US epée fencers and will be of immediate help in moving our program towards a national women's championship. Their high school coach is Jim Carpenter who I trained in the early 1980s, who then went on to be on the 1996 Olympic Team in Atlanta. I am extremely pleased they are joining our program and I know that they will be a great fit for us."
Meredith Baskies, foil:
A native of Lynnfield, Mass., and Boston University Academy, Meredith Baskies fences for the New York Fencers Club. Internationally, she finished 43rd in the cadet (under 17 age) World Cup in Jena, Germany in 2005. She placed 20th at the Junior World Cup in Louisville, Ky., in November of last year. Baskies is ranked as a Top-30 junior in the US.
"Meredith has considerable national and international experience over the past five years," said Schiller. "I expect her to contend for a spot in the starting rotation. Starter or not, she will give us excellent depth on the foil squad. She is young and will only get better as she matures as a collegiate fencer."
Karolyn Szot, foil:
Hailing from Lebanon, N.J., and Voorhees High School, Karolyn Szot is a good high school fencer who competes not only for Voorhees, but also for the Lucchetti USA Fencing Club. She led her foil team as the A strip fencer last year. Szot has extensive competitive experience. Winner of the Garden State Games in women's foil, Szot was named to the 2005 Interscholastic Fencing Association All-State team and the 2005 Newark Star Ledger All-State squad. Szot also competes in figure skating, dancing and field hockey.
"Karolyn is one of the premier high school fencers in New Jersey," stated Schiller. New Jersey is a hotbed of high school fencing, and we are pleased to welcome her to the foil squad. She will give us some solid depth there. As we take her to more national level competitions, she will gain the experience to be an excellent collegiate fencer.
Whitney White, sabre:
Whitney White is from Wyckoff, N.J., and attends Ramapo High School. Ramapo High is a perennial power in the state of New Jersey. White also competes for the Lilov Fencing Academy. She ended last season with an outstanding 26-3 record. She also placed 7th at the New Jersey State Individual Tournament. Named 2005 first-team All-Jersey North and second-team All-State. A true competitor, White received New Jersey's All-State Sportsmanship Award in 2005. As the sabre captain, she guided her team to a third-place finish in New Jersey.
"We are losing two seniors to graduation this year and I expect Whitney to come in and bolster our squad," said Schiller. "She will really help keep up the strong sabre tradition that we have maintained since the start of women's sabre on the collegiate level.
"My goal is to be the best women's team in the nation," continued Schiller. "This recruiting class is a giant step in that direction as we have signed two of the top epée juniors with the French sisters. We've also added some real depth to our foil and sabre squad with Baskies, Szot, and White. I hope to add some more to this class in the spring signing period to finish off what we have started here, but this is a great foundation for future success."
