Fencing: Women’s team travels to Philadelphia this weekend to participate in first 2022 invitational
Daily file photo by Evan Robinson-Johnson
A Northwestern fencer lunges. Northwestern will compete in the Philadelphia Invitational this weekend.
January 21, 2022
Coming off of a historic 2021 calendar year, Northwestern hopes to build upon its recent success in 2022.
The team has set themselves up as one of the strongest fencing programs in the country, finishing third in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship last season. NU will travel to Philadelphia this weekend to participate in its first invitational of the year. The team will match up against several other top programs from across the country, including four top-10 teams.
Coach Zach Moss has high aspirations about the outlook on the overall competition the team will face this weekend.
“Probably from top to bottom our strongest competition of the year,” Moss said, calling it “an awesome chance to test ourselves against the best and get a real sense of where we are at as a team.”
Despite the strong field that will be in Philadelphia this weekend, Moss is confident in the team’s ability to perform at a high level.
Foil Anna Biasco shares her coach’s high expectations.
“This weekend, our team aims to go undefeated,” Biasco said. “Our goals are backed by the work we put in every day and we are all really excited to see the reflection of our hard work and daily habits this weekend.”
Saber Levi Hoogendoorn recognized the high level of competition the team is up against this weekend. She hopes the invitational will build a strong foundation for the team moving forward.
On a broader scale, the team hopes this tournament will build more campuswide interest and knowledge about the program and the sport as a whole — especially given their success over the years.
“Our team has consistently been one of the most successful teams at Northwestern with 20 top-10 finishes at NCAA Championships over the past 22 years,” Moss said.
Moss hopes that because of the level of competition the team plays over the next few weeks, more students will start to closely follow the program.
There will be opportunities for students to attend home fencing events over the next few weeks on Feb. 5 to 6 and Feb. 27 at both Welsh-Ryan Arena and Ryan Fieldhouse.
“I want the Northwestern community (to) be as excited about coming to see these events and experience elite college fencing as we are about hosting them,” Moss said.
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Related Stories:
— Fencing: Northwestern looks to build on historic 2021 season
— Northwestern Fencing makes history with 3rd place finish at NCAA championships
