By Pritish BehuriaThe Daily Northwestern
Jessica Florendo was just a normal 7-year old swimming in her neighborhood pool when a former Olympic fencing coach noticed her athleticism. The Belarus immigrant thought he had discovered a future star and encouraged her parents to enroll their daughter in his fencing academy.
That’s when it all began for Florendo, who going into her senior year has already earned two All-American honors in the foil division.
Florendo said she stuck with sport because she always found the one-on-one aspect of it attractive. She said she always wanted to be part of a sport similar to a martial art, and fencing immediately stood out for her.
Along the way to earning two All-American honors in the foil division, Florendo has worked up an impressive career record of 313-74 in the first three years of her Northwestern career.
“Jessica’s one of our top fencers and had the best finish last year at the NCAA,” coach Laurie Schiller said. “She’s gained confidence over the years and more than anything has gained in maturity.”
Last year Florendo finished fifth in the foil division of the NCAA Championships, narrowly missing out on the All-American first team. It was an improvement over her performance, from the year before, when she finished 13th and made it to third-team All-American.
At the NCAA Championships last year, Florendo beat three of the four fencers who ended up ranked above her in the standings. It was losses to fencers below her in the standings that ended up costing her.
“Jessica has the ability to be NCAA champion,” Schiller said. “Of course, saying they can do it is different from doing it, and she wasn’t consistent all the way through the tournament last year.”
Going into the season, Florendo already had reached sixth place on the Cats’ career foil wins list. This season, she wants to improve on her performance in the NCAA Championships and make it to first team All-American.
Schiller said another important contribution from Florendo was her leadership ability. The team captain gives younger fencers who needed a strong leader important help in their development.
“There are a great group of girls this year especially the freshman,” Florendo said. “The team is shaping up to be a family, and they respect each other and push each other so much.”
Schiller also points to Florendo’s determination, speed and motivation as strengths, while her weaknesses have included her lack of patience and emotional self-control.
“Jess is very passionate and puts her heart and soul into bouts,” teammate Samantha Nemecek said. “But mental composure is very important in the sport and it can be tough to control that sometimes.”
Last year, Nemecek and Florendo were the only two fencers to cross the 100 win barrier in the season. They have a friendly rivalry between them, something Nemecek said makes the Cats’ foil team stronger.
Schiller said that throughout her career, Florendo has matured as a fencer, making hopes of being an NCAA Champion in the foil division seem not too far from reality.
“Collegiate fencing has helped me make every touch count in a bout,” Florendo said. “It’s because of the really competitive fencing in the Midwest.”
Reach Pritish Behuria at [email protected].
