Fencing Central: Oishi Dazzles At January NAC, ‘Cats Prepare For Tufts Invitational

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (January 12, 2023) – First-year sabreist Megumi Oishi posted an impressive finish to lead Northwestern fencing at USA Fencing's January North American Cup this past weekend in Louisville, Ky.
 
Competing in the Junior division, Oishi, a native of Portland, Ore., enjoyed a scintillating run through the tableau, rattling off five straight wins en route to a berth in the quarterfinals.  Oishi punched her ticket to the final eight by virtue of an impressive 15-10 win over fifth-seeded Alexandra Lee. 
 
Oishi also impressed in the Senior section of the event, placing 27^th, while junior Sky Miller also battled her way inside the top 50, placing 42^nd.
 
The foil crew was paced by the pairing of sophomore Yejine Lee and first-year Juliana Hung.  Lee, fresh off placing 10^th overall at the December NAC, enjoyed another strong outing in the Senior division, going 4-2 in pool action before picking up two wins in the tableau, none more exciting than a thrilling 15-14 upset of No. 16 Chin-Yi Kong. 
 
Hung impressed in the Junior division, rattling off four straight wins in pool play before upending fifth-seeded Skylar Knight, 12-10, in a second-round pairing of the tableau on her way to placing 28^th.  Sophomore Rowan Park (45^th) and first-year Allison Lee (50^th) also notched top-50 efforts for the 'Cats.
 
In the Senior division of the epee, first-year Karen Wang and sophomore Athina Kwon carried the banner for Northwestern.  Wang, who took 27^th, rebounded from a defeat in her opening bout of the first stage of pool play with five consecutive wins ahead of a second-round 15-14 upset of 26^th seeded Isis Washington in the final tableau.  Like Wang, Kwon also advanced to the round of 32, pulling off a 15-14 triumph of her own over No. 22 Anya Mehrotra as she ultimately landed 30^th.
 
Competing in the Junior section of the epee, first-year Anna Damratoski went a perfect 6-0 during pool play en route to taking 34^th place.
 
A full listing of results for all Wildcats that competed follows.
 
Division I Women's Foil
25^th Yejine Lee
61^st Allison Lee
65^th Rowan Park
73^rd Anna Biasco
145^th Celia Crompton
156^th Juliana Hung
 
Junior Women's Foil
28^th Juliana Hung
45^th Rowan Park
50^th Allison Lee
 
Division I Women's Epee
27^th Karen Wang
30^th Athina Kwon
65^th Anna Damratoski
142^nd Blodwen Bindas
 
Junior Women's Epee
34^th Anna Damratoski
116^th Karen Wang
120^th Athina Kwon
 
Division I Women's Sabre
27^th Megumi Oishi
42^nd Sky Miller
54^th Kailing Sathyanath
 
Junior Women's Sabre
6^th Megumi Oishi
67^th Kailing Sathyanath
 
UP NEXT
Currently ranked No. 6 in the nation, Northwestern is back in action on Sunday, January 15 at the Tufts Invitational in Medford, Mass.  The 'Cats are slated to battle a pair of ranked Division III sides in No. 3 Wellesley and No. 4 Tufts, the latter being the event host, along with LIU.