The LU fencers drove down to Northwestern University Saturday, Feb. 2, to participate in the Northwestern Duals, one of the biggest, toughest tournaments of the season. Teams from across the U.S., many of whom are champions of their own divisions, all came together for two, 12-hour days of intense fencing.The competition is always fierce, and the LU women started with a disadvantage, due to incomplete Epee and Sabre squads. However, the ladies went forth to post a 3-7 record, soundly defeating CalTech, Farleigh Dickinson and CSU-Fullerton. The Women’s Foil squad (led by senior Alice Shoen) went 4-6, including a great victory over UC-San Diego. The Women’s Epee squad, despite being one member short, was led by Chiara Terzuolo (’09) who is recovering from a broken toe.
They posted a 3-7 record, even defeating the full Johns Hopkins squad. On the second day of fencing, one of the two members of the women’s Sabre squad was injured during her first bout, leaving Christina Bartell (’08) to represent LU on the strip. Nonetheless, they still accrued two victories, including CSU-Fullerton. Individually, the ladies beat fencers from top schools including Stanford, Temple, Duke, University of North Carolina and Farleigh Dickinson.
The LU men’s team is young, with many freshmen and first-time fencers. They posted a 1-7 record with a resounding victory over CalTech, and show great promise for the years to come. Men’s Foil and Men’s Epee both went 1-7. The Men’s Sabre squad posted a 3-5 record, defeating teams from Johns Hopkins and University of Detroit-Mercy. Many of the individual bouts were stunning, and the men beat fencers from powerhouses like Duke, UC San Diego, Notre Dame, University of North Carolina and Ohio State.
The team travels to Notre Dame next weekend to compete in the Notre Dame Duals.