Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
NCAA Midwest Regional
Nemecek, French Sisters Look Poised To Advance To NCAA Championships
3/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Fencing
March 7, 2009
NCAA Midwest Regional Final Results 
2008-09 Women's Fencing Results/Statistics
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- One week after capturing the Midwest Conference individual foil championship, senior Sam Nemecek (Caledonia, Mich./Caledonia) finished second at the NCAA Midwest Regionals at Ohio State University, punching her ticket to a fourth-straight trip to the NCAA Championships. Nemecek highlighted an afternoon which saw nine Wildcats record top-10 finishes.
The second-place finish for Nemecek caps off an incredible four-year run, in which the senior finished first at Regionals in 2006, third in 2007 and fourth in 2008. She was tops among the NU foilists, with junior Meredith Baskies (Lynnfield, Mass./Boston University Academy) placing eighth for the second-straight year and freshman Devynn Patterson (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt) finishing ninth.
In the epée, it was once again the French sisters who led the way, with Christa French (Southlake, Texas/Carroll) finishing fifth and Kayley French (Southlake, Texas/Carroll) placing sixth as both hope to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Junior Joanna Niklinska (Granger, Ind./Penn) looks to be a long shot after finishing 10th. It was a rough outing for the sabre team, with junior Whitney White (Wyckoff, N.J./Ramapo), senior Adrienne Shon (San Diego, Calif./Bishop School) and sophomore Jill Mahen (Chester, N.J./Mendham) placing eighth, ninth and 10th respectively.
Each team can qualify up to six athletes, consisting of two women each per weapon. The top five finishers will receive auto-bids in sabre and epée, while the top four finishers in foil will receive auto-bids. In addition to the automatic bids, several at-large bids will also be available. At-large selection to the NCAA finals is based on pre-regional "power ranking" (40 percent) and Regional placement (60 percent). Final spots for the NCAA Championships, which will be held at University Park, Pa., on March 19-22, will be announced Tuesday.
