By Pritish BehuriaThe Daily Northwestern

When sophomore Sam Nemecek came to Northwestern a year ago, she was worried she would miss the calming influence of her father during bouts.

Coach Laurie Schiller took over that role for Nemecek and guided her to a second team All-America selection.

“When I’m emotional and I fence, it’s hard to separate emotion from performance,” Nemecek said. “Coach is so wonderful and calms you down when you need it.”

Schiller is in his 29th season as Wildcats coach. His record stands at 894-396 and is a weekend’s clean sweep away from accumulating his 900th win.

Schiller has achieved tremendous success with the Cats over the past few seasons, finishing with a record of 35-4 last year. With the Cats finishing seventh in the NCAA Championships, it was the sixth season in a row NU ended the year in the top 10.

“What I really want is the team to be national champions,” Schiller said. “We’ve got really good kids but we have to have six, and all six have to do well.”

Schiller is one of the most respected coaches in the country, having earned a fencing masters from the United States Fencing Coaches Association in 2002. He was also named to the 1980s all-decade team, which was composed of fencers, coaches and administrators. He has received a host of other awards including the USFC Collegiate Coach of the Year in 1998 and 2004.

“Awards are fine,” Schiller said. “It’s nice to be recognized by my peers, but what I want is the success of my team.”

He has coached more than 87 percent of the matches in school history, including 16 seasons as men’s coach before the program moved to club status in 1994.

Schiller said it was difficult to even think of how to compare this year’s team with the one he began with, likening the first team 29 years ago to a Division III program, unlike the established Division I program that exists today.

Schiller initially balanced coaching with teaching in the History department. He took a break from the classroom in 2000, although now he still teaches occasionally.

“It was always very hard and now, I’m too old to do it,” Schiller said. “When I first started, I didn’t expect to continue. I was a novice and now, I’ve achieved the highest level of coaching.”

With almost three decades of coaching behind him, Schiller has not lost his enthusiasm for the sport. Freshman Allie Keller said Schiller is so dedicated it encourages the whole team to work hard and make a stronger effort.

With his 900th win a possible achievement this weekend, Schiller said he hopes for an undefeated season to cap his 29th year as skipper.

“Maybe in four years or even less,