Franke Earns 600th Career Win In Second Day Of Northwestern Duals
Owls win two, led by Parker in foil
1/31/2010 11:02:47 PM
The Temple fencing team celebrates Coach Franke's 600th win
CHICAGO – Temple fencing head coach Nikki Franke earned her 600th career win as the seventh-ranked Owls posted a 2-3 record in the second day of action at the Northwestern Duals. Leading Temple was Melissa Parker, posting a 10-1 record to lift the foil squad to an undefeated 5-0 record on the day.
“The team really improved over the course of the weekend while competing against some very strong schools,” commented Franke. “As a whole we competed well, but there are still some things we will work on as the season progresses.”
Franke needed just two wins heading into today’s competition to achieve the historic mark, now owning a career record of 600-156-1. The Owls first topped Farleigh Dickinson 21-6, with sabre only allowing seven touches out of 45 attempts. Their second win of the day came against Johns Hopkins, 23-4.
Individually, Parker was the Owls top performer, helping the foil squad maintain a perfect record on the day going up against second-ranked Notre Dame and ninth-ranked Princeton. Freshman Mikayla Varadi posted a 9-2 record in the weapon, while sophomore Alyssa Lomuscio went 6-3, sophomore Cara Taggersell finished 5-2 and classmate Danielle Jones finished 3-4.
In sabre, senior Christie Griffith led the way with a 9-4 record, with junior Samantha Pascarelli going 6-2. Junior Audrey Barroso claimed a 7-6 record on the day and sophomore Kamali Thompson went 6-5.
The epee squad endured a tough day, with sophomore Jillian Bratton finishing 4-5, classmate Nicola Horscroft going 3-5, junior Grace Wu ending 5-8, and junior Alyssa Lombardi posting a 5-10 record.
Next up for the Owls is the Duke Invitational, held February 7 in Durham, N.C.