Jessica Florendo was just a normal 7-year old swimming in her neighborhood pool when a former Olympic fencing coach noticed her athleticism. The Belarus immigrant thought he had discovered a future star and encouraged her parents to enroll their daughter in his fencing academy.
That's when it all began for Florendo. Last year Florendo finished fifth in the foil division of the NCAA Championships, narrowly missing out on the All-American first team. It was an improvement over her performance, from the year before, when she finished 13th and made it to third-team All-American.
Florendo said she stuck with sport because she always found the one-on-one aspect of it attractive. She said she always wanted to be part of a sport similar to a martial art, and fencing immediately stood out for her.
Going into the season, Florendo already ranks 6th on Northwestern's career foil wins list. This season, she wants to improve on her performance in the NCAA Championships and make first team All-American. Along the way to earning 2nd team All-American honors in the foil division, Florendo has worked up an impressive career record of 313-74 in the first three years of her Northwestern career.
"Jessica's one of our top fencers and had the best finish last year at the NCAA," coach Laurie Schiller said. "She's gained confidence over the years and more than anything has gained in maturity."
