Tenth-Ranked Fencing Goes 4-2 on Day One of the Northwestern Duals

Saturday, January 30

South Bend, Ind.

All Day

Temple University

Northwestern Duals

Junior Kristen Kemnitzer

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Tenth-Ranked Fencing Goes 4-2 on Day One of the Northwestern Duals

1.30.16 | Women's Fencing

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The 10th-ranked Temple fencing team went 4-2 on the first day of the Northwestern Duals, losing only to #5 Northwestern and #6 Ohio State on a packed day of competition.

The meet is being held this year at Notre Dame, due to ongoing renovations of Northwestern's facilities.

The Owls started the day with a big win over Stanford, beating the Cardinal 16-11. Their other victories included a 19-8 win vs. Air Force, another 19-8 win against Wayne State and a dominant 26-1 win against Cal to finish the day. Temple lost by a score of 18-9 to both Northwestern and Ohio State, ranked fifth and sixth in the national poll, respectively.

Junior Kristen Kemnitzer of the foil squad went undefeated overall on day one with a record of 5-0. Junior Alexandra Keft (epee) was 12-6, and freshman Jessica Rockford (sabre) went 8-2. The Owls got a pair of notable victories against top teams from both sophomore Becca Stanford (foil) and senior Jessica Hall (epee). Stanford defeated Alanna Goldie of #6 Ohio State 5-2, with Goldie coming off a third-place finish at last year's NCAA Championships. Hall won 5-4 against #6 Northwestern's Juliana Barrett, an All-American in 2015.

"We're pleased with how the team performed today," said assistant coach Josh Herring. "It was a long day and our team showed a lot of mental toughness and physical strength. We had a lot of underclassmen step up today which was great to see. We have another full day to go, but we're prepared and in position to do really well."

Temple was without the services of top epee fencer Safa Ibrahim, currently listed at day-to-day after suffering an ankle injury in practice.

Against the top-10 competition, Temple's sabre squad got a 6-3 win against #6 Ohio State with Petra Khan, Victoria Suber and Rockford all going 2-1 vs. the Buckeyes.

The foil squad earned 9-0 victories twice on day one of the weekend-long competition, the first being a crucial perfect score against Stanford. Senior and team captain Demi Antipas went 5-0 in those matches, going 3-0 in the foil squad's second perfect match against Cal.

The Owls will face six more teams on Sunday, starting with #2 Notre Dame and also matching up with Detroit, Princeton, Lawrence, UC San Diego and Cleveland State.

Temple Results - Northwestern Duals Day One
#10 Temple 16, Stanford 11
Foil, 9-0
Sabre, 3-6
Epee, 4-5

#10 Temple 19, Air Force 8
Foil, 5-4
Sabre, 7-2
Epee, 7-2

#5 Northwestern 19, #10 Temple 8
Foil, 3-6
Sabre, 3-6
Epee, 2-7

#6 Ohio State 18, #10 Temple 9
Foil, 1-8
Sabre, 6-3
Epee, 2-7

#10 Temple 19, Wayne State 8
Foil, 5-4
Sabre, 6-3
Epee, 8-1

#10 Temple 26, Cal 1
Foil, 9-0
Sabre, 9-0
Epee, 9-1