Feb. 29, 2008
MADISON, N.J. - The #8 Temple women's fencing team, fresh off its 12th consecutive NIFWA Championship and best regular season in years, will head to Madison, N.J. to compete in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic/South Regional this Saturday.
The Owls enter NCAA play on a tear, sweeping all three individual and team events at the NIFWA Championships, capping off a 15-0 weekend. The Cherry and White finished the regular season at 24-6 and ranked #8 nationally, the highest ranking for the Owls in nearly five seasons.
"I'm very proud of what this team has been able to accomplish throughout the season," said veteran head coach Nikki Franke. "Hopefully, we can keep it going through regionals".
Despite the fact that all 16 members of the team qualified for regionals (must win 40% of matches and compete in 21 bouts), each team is only permitted to select 12 representatives. Competing for the Cherry and White at regionals will be senior Samantha Myles, senior Marla Nacey, senior Brianna Ferrara, freshman Grace Wu, sophomore Kristin Howell, junior Kaitlyn Uckert, sophomore Melissa Parker, sophomore Abby Schifferle, junior Nina Gernes, sophomore Meredith Bratton, sophomore Christie Griffith, and freshman Audrey Barroso.
Howell, coming off a second place epee finish at the Junior Olympics in Charlotte, will lead the way for the Cherry and White as the #1 seed in the epee. Parker is the highest seeded Owl in the foil, entering the event at the #3 seed. Barroso will lead the sabre as the #5 seed.
The top six competitors in the epee and sabre, along with the top seven finishers in the foil will advance to the NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio on March 13th. A combination of regular record (40%) and NCAA Regional performance (60%) is used to determine the order of finish.
Action is slated to begin at the NCAA Regional at 9 a.m. and last all day.
