The Iowa Fencing Club’s women’s sabre team finished in fourth place at the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships last weekend in South Bend, Ind.

The team’s highest finish ever was good enough to beat four varsity programs and 11 other clubs. The club finished behind only Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Northwestern — all of which are nationally ranked varsity squads.

The Iowa club was the No. 5 seed in the women’s sabre bracket, and sent Krystal Titus, Sara Pettit, and Katie Jacobsen to face No. 12-seed Oakland in the first round on Sunday. The trio of UI seniors only dropped 1 point on the way to a 5-1 win over the Golden Grizzlies.

No. 4-seed Michigan State was more of a challenge; the Spartans hung around but finally fell, 5-3, in the quarterfinals.

But the Iowa club had less luck against No. 1-seed Notre Dame in the semis; the team was swept, 5-0. It fell to No. 3-seed Northwestern in the third-place match, 5-1.

Still, the club’s finish was good enough for first place among club teams; that distinction earned the squad the Lawrence Schiller Award for women’s sabre.

The Iowa women also placed in the top 10 in épée and foil and finished eighth overall. Iowa placed 13th as a school; the men tied Xavier for 17th in their division.

— by Seth Roberts