Laurie Schiller Position: Head Coach Experience: 32nd Season Alma Mater: Rutgers, 1972

Northwestern fencing coach Laurie Schiller enters his 32nd season at the helm of the Wildcats on the verge of rare and impressive career milestone. Coming off Northwestern's 34-7 record in 2008-09, Schiller boats an overall career record of 989-412 (.706) and needs just 11 victories to reach 1,000.

Under Schiller's guidance, Northwestern had recorded five consecutive 30-plus win seasons and continues to establish itself as one of the top fencing programs in the country. The Wildcats finished third in the Midwest Fencing Conference in 2009, the 17th-straight year NU has posted a top-three finish, with Sam Nemecek capturing the individual championship in the foil for the second time in her career.

The Wildcats sent five fencers to the NCAA Championships in March, finishing seventh and upping its streak of top-10 national finishes to 10 straight seasons. Nemecek and epéeist Christa French both earned second-team All-American honors, bring the number of All-Americans coached by Schiller to 21 since 1998.

Known as one of the top fencing coaches in the country, Schiller has garnered national recognition throughout his career. In 1998 and most recently 2004, he was voted USFC A Collegiate Coach of the Year. Schiller was also recently named to the NCAA Fencing Committee, consisting of eight head coaches from across the country.

Not only has he been honored with national laurels, but the accomplishments of his teams have led to five Midwest Fencing Conference Coach of the Year awards in the last eight years. Schiller was most recently honored with the award after the 2007-08 season, and currently serves as the conference's commissioner.

Schiller added another chapter to his successes after earning a fencing masters from the United States Fencing Coaches' Association (USFCA) in August 2002 and currently serves as the Association's Midwest Vice President.

The USFCA is a national academy of the Academie d'Armes Internationale (AAI), the world organization of fencing masters. The diplomas awarded through the USFCA are recognized by the AAI and its member national academies throughout the world.

The fencing master, the highest level of accreditation, requires an exhaustive practical and oral examination, given by a board of USFCA fencing masters, as well as a written thesis.

"It took me a long time to do it, but I'm glad I finally did it," said Schiller. "It was nice to prove to myself that I could do it."

After taking over the program in 1978, Schiller has a combined men's and women's record of 989-412 (.706). He holds a place among a very elite club, as he is one of just 28 Division I head coaches to eclipse the 900-win mark.

His record as women's coach is even more impressive, at 747-238 (.758). His women's teams have experienced incredible success over the years, finishing with winning records in 30 of his 31 seasons, and eclipsing the 30-win mark seven times, including each of the last five years. The Wildcats have topped 20 wins in 16 of the last 17 years and have a 367-54 (.872) record since the beginning of the 1997-98 season.

Schiller has coached more than 86 percent of the matches in school history (1,401 of 1,627), a stretch which includes 16 seasons as men's head coach prior to the program's move to club status following the 1993-94 season.

One of the most respected fencing coaches in America, Schiller was named at the 1991 NCAA Championships to the all-decade team for the 1980s, comprised of fencers, coaches and administrators. He also serves as the Vice Chair of the USFA Illinois Division.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Schiller attended Rutgers University, where he was a three-year letterman and co-captain of the Scarlet Knights. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree in African and Afro-American Studies. Schiller came to NU as a graduate student in 1972 and was awarded a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship in 1976. He received his doctorate in African History in 1982.

In addition to his coaching duties, Schiller has taught history at Northwestern. He recently had a book published by the Blue and Gray Education Society on the evolution of the Federal cavalry tactics in the Civil War.

Schiller resides in Deerfield, Ill., with his wife, Cathleen Weigley, who serves as the team's armorer.