As the women’s fencing team jogs around the track in their team sweatshirts, freshman epée (a type of fencing weapon) Karalina Collins blends right in. Only after warm-ups when she removes her sweatshirt does she becomes distinguishable from the rest of her teammates. Unlike the other 36 of them, Collins is missing her hand and some of her right forearm, the result of a birth defect.
Despite this handicap, Collins is making a name for herself in fencing, finishing 32nd out of 142 Division I competitors at the United States Fencing Association North American Cup. Collins also earned sixth place out 62 at the Remenyik open.
“I’m extremely happy,” says Collins, a Weinberg freshman, when talking about her early success. “A lot of girls that have been fencing for as long as I have or more haven’t gotten the results that I have, so I think so far I’m doing pretty well.”
A key driver of her motivation? Fencing scholarships.
“I had [fenced] a long time ago in Girl Scouts,” Collins says. “I didn’t pick it up again until freshman year of high school. I was looking for a way to pay for college, and I had to choose between volleyball and fencing. In volleyball you’re not easily noticed. In fencing, you’re apparently more noticeable. It got me a scholarship.”
The size of the scholarship was a big draw in making Collins a Wildcat. She says she chose Northwestern because of its prestige. “And the coach is really nice.”
According to head coach Laurie Schiller, Collins has a shot at reaching her goal, to go to the NCAA’s.
“She’s got lots of potential and she has the potential to be an NCAA qualifier at some point,” Schiller says.
“She’s still learning. She has a long way to go before she’s going to become the star.”
But even so, Schiller sees Collins as someone who could soon become a team leader. “I think she’s going to step into a very strong role next year,” he says.
While freshmen standouts in other sports may dream of becoming a professional, Collins is aware that collegiate fencing may very well be the conclusion of her career.
“I’m just doing it to get through college, and afterward, I don’t know,” she says. “I’ve had somebody approach me to go to the Paralympics [an event for athletes with physical and visual disabilities], but I don’t think I’d be doing that.”
Paralympic fencers are required to sit in a wheelchair, something that doesn’t sit well with Collins.
“It doesn’t feel right to me,” Collins says. “I have able use of my legs. I just don’t think that’s right.”