Lauren Dunn had one fantasy as a kid: To play professional basketball in front of raucous crowds in her hometown of Sacramento, Calif.
“I never grew past 5-4, so I had to give up that dream,” she said.
She still sports the Sacramento Kings’ purple and white, but does it while energizing her fellow NU fencers at Patten Gym.
After acknowledging that her dreams would not be realized, Dunn took up fencing during her freshman year of high school. Bored with other sports and activities, Dunn devoted hours of her time after school to improving her technique at the Sacramento Fencing Club.
“I could practice fencing five hours a day and never be perfect,” she said. “I don’t know if there are that many things you can say that about. It’s just a constant challenge.”
As a freshman last season, Dunn qualified for the NCAA Championships. She took home eighth place in sabre, good enough to earn second-team All American honors.
This season Dunn has posted a 47-16 record and triumphed over nationally renowned fencers. She beat Ohio State’s Louise Bond-Williams, who finished second in the NCAA Championships last season and was named first-team All American.
Dunn, a communication studies major who wants a career in advertising, said her personality is her biggest asset — and her biggest enemy.
“I’m prideful, stubborn and a perfectionist. It’s a good combination for fencing, because it’s hard to give up (in a bout),” she said. “(But) I’m a complete nut case. Even when I have my technique I can psyche myself out not matter what.”
One of Dunn’s trademarks is her victory scream.
“When she gets a touch that she’s worked for, she’ll turn around and go, ‘Whooo!'” teammate Melissa Dattalo said. “She doesn’t have a wussy or shrieking scream.”
“I was in 10th grade and it kind of came out one day, and now it’s just a habit,” Dunn said. “It pumps me up, scares my opponents and says to the referee, ‘I know what I’m doing.'”
Coach Laurie Schiller characterized Dunn as frenetic and energetic.
“Lauren is a good kid,” he said. “She tries hard but doesn’t have a lot of faith in herself. (But) when Lauren is on, whoa, she can beat almost anybody.”
No. 8 NU (23-6) at Midwest Duals
Saturday
East Lansing, Mich.
