Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Midwest Conference Championships
Nemecek Captures Individual Title at Midwest Conference Championships
2/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Fencing
Feb. 28, 2009
2009 Midwest Fencing Conference Championships Results
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- After three-straight runner-up finishes at the Midwest Conference Championships, senior Sam Nemecek (Caledonia, Mich./Caledonia) finally broke through, posting a perfect 12-0 record to take home the women's foil individual title. Nemecek highlighted a successful day for the Northwestern fencers, as 10 Wildcats posted top-10 finishes in the conference tournament.
Lead by Nemecek's title, the Northwestern foil team dominated the strips at the Joyce Center on the Notre Dame campus, as the Wildcats had seven fencers finish among the top-12. In the biggest competition of their careers to date, the NU freshmen stepped up in a big way, with Devynn Patterson (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt) finishing in a tie for third, Ariel Stein (New York, N.Y./Riverdale County School) placing seventh and Camille Provencal (St. Paul, Minn./Central) ninth. Junior Meredith Baskies (Lynnfield, Mass./Boston University Academy) also placed among the top-10 for the 'Cats, posting an eighth-place finish for the second consecutive year. Sophomores Irisa Chen (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills Regional) and Lisa Sachs (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) finished 11th and 12th respectively, with freshman Rebecca Grohman (South Orange, N.J./Columbia) placing 15th.
The NU epée squad was nearly as impressive as well, as junior Joanna Niklinska (Granger, Ind./Penn) captured runner-up honors, improving on her third-place finish in 2008. Fellow junior Christa French (Southlake, Texas/Carroll) was right behind her teammate, finishing in a tie for third with sister Kayley French (Southlake, Texas/Carroll) finishing sixth. Sophomore Sara Peck (North Haven, Conn./North Haven) just missed joining the trio in the top 10, posting an 11th-place finish.
A pair of sabre fencers followed suit as well as senior Adrienne Shon (San Diego, Calif./Bishop's School) notched a sixth-place finish after placing 11th a year ago. Shon was followed close behind by junior Whitney White (Wyckoff, N.J./Ramapo) in seventh, her new personal-best. Freshman Annelise Eeman (St. Louis Park, Minn./St. Louis Park) was another Wildcat who just missed cracking the top-10, finishing 11th. Junior Allie Keller (Concord, Mass./Concord-Carlisle Regional) placed 14th while sophomore Jill Mahen (Chester, N.J./Mendham) finished 15th.
With the individual titles wrapped up, Northwestern now pursues the team championships, which get underway at the Joyce Center at 8 a.m. Central time Sunday morning. The Wildcats, who have finished in the top three in each of the last 15 years, seek their first team title since 2001.
