March 14, 2004

CHICAGO - Freshman Mike Merker finished fourth at the NCAA Midwest Regional held on Sunday at Northwestern. His performance in foil was highlighted by a 5-0 victory over third-seeded and two-time All-American Forest Walton of Notre Dame. Merker will now await the announcement of the NCAA Championships field on Thursday. The championships will be held on March 27-28 at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.

"Mike deserves to go," head coach Jim Sager asserted. "He's done everything he could to earn a spot in the championships. I'm very proud of how the team competed this weekend and I am already excited about next season."

Joining Merker at the regional competition were freshman Nate Krieger (epee), junior Tom Kotula (foil), senior Tim Levar (epee), junior Robert Leonard (saber), and senior Jen Marvinney (foil).