March 12, 2011

Contact: Dan Carr

DETROIT, Mich. - Cleveland State's Alex Dickinson placed eighth in the epee division and Stephanie Lee took 16th in the foil at the 2011 NCAA Midwest Regional Qualifiers on Saturday (March 12) in Detroit, Mich.

"I was pleased with both of their performances," head coach Andy Tulleners said. "Both were in very tough fields and both fenced well."

Dickinson started the day with a 1-4 performance in the first group round. Her victory was a 5-4 decision against Northwestern's Nicole Tilley. Dickinson's closest bout after that was a 5-4 loss to Dina Bazarbayeva, also of Northwestern.

The freshman advanced to the second round of group competition, where she won two more bouts. Dickinson swept Notre Dame's Diane Zielinski, 5-0, and beat Tasha Domashovetz of Ohio State, 5-2. She also had a narrow loss to Ohio State's Caroline Piasecka, falling in a 5-4 decision.

"Alex faced the strongest competition in the region in that final round and really performed well," Tulleners said. "It was her best fencing of the season."

Lee went 0-5 in the first round of group fencing. She scored a combined 12 points in those defeats, which placed her ahead of Lawrence's Caitlyn Hoglund (two points) and Dorothea Schurr (one point) who placed 17th and 18th, respectively.

"Stephanie was in a very tough field, and I thought she did well," Tulleners said. "Her points came against some tough fencers, and I was pleased with her performance."

This was the first of two days of fencing competition at the Midwest Regional Qualifiers, which were held on Wayne State's campus. The event will conclude on Sunday (March 13) with the men's competition.