Pirkowski Surges To Runner-Up Finish At January NAC

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (January 7, 2024) – Amanda Pirkowski brought home a runner-up finish in the Division I Women's Epee to highlight Northwestern fencing's stay at USA Fencing's January North American Cup (NAC).
 
After splitting her six pool bouts, Pirkowksi went on a dream run through the tableau to secure her spot on the podium.  The graduate student rattled six consecutive wins, all of which came against higher-seeded opposition, to book her spot in the final, where she ultimately dropped a tightly contested 15-12 decision to second-seeded Kasia Nixon.  Pirkowski knocked off two of the event's top eight seeds, including a thrilling 15-14 win over No. 5 Alexandra Rakhovski in the semifinals.
 
Competing in the Division I Women's Sabre, Alex Chen and Nisha Hild each finished inside the top 50.  After both picked up four pool bout wins, Chen (40^th) scored a 15-11 triumph to advance to the Round of 64, while Hild (44^th) posted a 15-7 victory to match her sophomore counterpart.
 
A full listing of Northwestern's results from the January NAC follows.
 
Division I Women's Epee
2^nd – Amanda Pirkowski
 
Division I Women's Foil
118^th – Samantha Serban
 
Division I Women's Sabre
40^th – Alex Chen
44^th – Nisha Hild
68^th – Adele Bois
102^nd – Kira Erikson
118^th – Megumi Oishi
131^st – Amy Lu
133^rd – Kailing Sathyanath
 
UP NEXT
Northwestern resumes dual competition on Sunday, January 12 when it travels to Medford, Mass. for the Tufts Invitational.