In its final tune-up before dual meets begin, Northwestern fencing hosted the Remenyik Regional Open Circuit (ROC) from Oct. 18 to 19 at Ryan Fieldhouse. In a competition field that included five visiting
universities on the women’s side, the home team shined as nine different Wildcats earned top-three finishes.
Northwestern’s weekend began with the Division I Women’s Foil event, where sophomores Yukari Takamizawa and Daphne Chan took second and third, respectively, in a field of 65 fencers. The ‘Cats also had six other fencers competing, and all placed in the top 18.
Takamizawa, who finished in a team-best 11th place at the October North American Cup (NAC) a week prior, backed up her result by making it all the way to the foil finals, eventually falling at the hands of Michigan native Adeline Senic 15-9. To get there, Takamizawa eliminated her teammate Chan in a narrow semifinal 15-14 battle.
Next up was the Junior Women’s Epee, a category reserved for those ages 20 and under. Sophomore Hailin Chen and first-year Natasha Lee tied for third in this event after they both reached the semi-finals, while first-year Angelica Xiong placed fifth with a quarterfinals appearance. Both Lee and Xiong made their Northwestern debuts in this event.
Xiong would continue her momentum into the DI Women’s Epee, where she made a run into the finals in a field of 53. Despite being seeded 17th, she upset the top-seeded Anna Klimenko 8-7 in the round of 16. Then she beat eighth-seeded Azaline Dunlap-Smith and 12th-seeded Anna Damratoski in the quarters and semis, respectively. But Xiong didn’t win when she faced a lower seed herself in the finals, falling to former Wildcat and 22nd seed Amanda Prikowski 15-9 in the finals.
Damratoski, a NU senior, placed third overall in the Epee, following her 70th-place finish in the same event at the October NAC.
Northwestern saved the best for last, as its final event of the ROC produced a Wildcat winner. In the DI Women’s Sabre, senior Megumi Oishi placed first of 39 fencers, defeating several of her teammates in the process. She beat sophomore Kira Erikson in the finals, first-year Sophia Schiminovich in the semi-finals and junior Alex Chen in the quarterfinals.
The Sabre event was also Northwestern’s most successful overall, as it was responsible for seven of the top 10.
Northwestern will head to Columbus, Ohio, next, where it will compete at the Elite Invitational from Nov. 8 to 9.
