'Cats Compete at USA Fencing Nationals

4/23/2018 4:58:00 PM | Women's Fencing

RICHMOND, Va. – Northwestern sent eight fencers to the USA Fencing National Championships this weekend in Richmond, Va., with Pauline Hamilton finishing in a team-high 14th place in epee.

Three Wildcats competed in the Div. I women's foil event. Jia began pool play with three straight wins, finishing with a 5-1 record and to give her the No. 15 seed in the main draw. Jia received a first-round bye due, but she was defeated in the Round of 64 by Erin Dietsche to ultimately finish in 33rd place. Sharon Chen and Alexandra Banin also both competed in foil.

Alexis Browne was the lone competitor in women's saber, finishing pool bouts as the No. 32 seed. In the elimination round, Browne defeated Sophie Witex by a score of 15-12 and then lost in the Round of 32 to Mariel Zagunis, who went on to win the tournament. She finished in 29th overall.

Four 'Cats competed in the women's epee and three qualified for the elimination round. Pauline Hamilton entered the elimination round as the No. 38 seed and defeated her first two opponents by one point each. The eventual runner-up Catherine Nixon then defeated Hamilton in the round of 16, and the sophomore finished in 14th place.

Ella Lombard found elimination round success as well, finishing pool play as the No. 23 seed and then defeating Irene Yeu in the first elimination round match, 15-14. Lombard then fell to Sofia Kamar in the round of 32, resulting in a 23rd place finish.

Katie Van Riper also made it to the elimination bouts after finishing pool play as the No. 50 seed, but she lost 15-12 to Cassandra Bates in the round of 64. Anya Harkness did not qualify for the elimination round.

The USA Fencing national championships is the last team event on the schedule for the 2017-18 season. The Wildcats will be in action in some individual events and prepare for the offseason.