'Cats Place Third At Midwest Championships

3/6/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Fencing

March 6, 2011

Complete Results

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Following several impressive individual performances, sixth-ranked Northwestern earned a third-place overall finish in the Midwest Conference Championships this past weekend in South Bend. The Wildcats scored 545 team points and finished behind host Notre Dame (660) and Ohio State (655).

Northwestern's strongest effort came from the epée squad where individually, four Wildcats finished in the top 10, led by sophomores Karalina Collins who tied for third and Kate Cavanaugh who finished fifth. Sophomore Kendrick Mooney and captain Nicole Tilley rounded out NU's top-10 contingent, placing eighth and 10th, respectively. As a team, NU defeated Indiana and Ohio State handily, and finished second behind the Fighting Irish.

The foil team began with a similar opening foe, defeating the Hoosiers, 5-0 followed by a 5-3 victory over Notre Dame. The Wildcats gave perennial power Ohio State all it had, but came up short, 5-4, in the finals. On the individual side, sophomore standout Dayana Sarkisova was Northwestern highest individual performance of the championships, coming in second place. Camille Provencal battled her way to seventh while Irisa Chen turned in a top-10 effort.

Northwestern breezed by Washington State, 5-0 in opening round of sabre before falling to Notre Dame in the semifinals, 5-0. The Wildcats regained their footing and downed Michigan State, 5-2, to claim third place. Individually, senior Jill Mahen was NU's highest finisher, placing 10th.

Up next for the Northwestern fencers is a trip to the NCAA Midwest Regional in Detroit on Saturday, March 12 and 13. There they will compete for a spot in the NCAA Championships March 23-17 in Columbus, Ohio.

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