Talk about polar opposites. Northwestern’s tennis programs continue to dominate, while the ‘Cats hardwood squads keep floundering in Big Ten play. Movement isn’t too drastic from last week, as most teams remained constant, but a few shake-ups emerged.
1. Women’s Tennis – The Wildcats’ first road trip turned out brilliantly. NU smashed the University of New Mexico 7-0 on Saturday night in Albuquerque to remain unbeaten this season. The team travels to Atlanta next Saturday to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
2. Men’s Tennis - The ladies aren’t the only team blanking opponents on the clay. The men shut down Butler 7-0, helping the ‘Cats reach a 4-1 mark, the first time they’ve had that record since the 2004-2005 season. Dominant play from NU on the tennis courts.
3. Women’s Swimming - A big Saturday for the Wildcats, as they beat Ohio State at the Norris Aquatics Center 167-133. And, much like the men’s team last week, they did it all on Senior Night. A great send-off.
4. Fencing – Solid week for the fencing team. Sophomore Kayley French finished a respectable fifth at the USFA American Cup. Later on, the ‘Cats went 3-3 at the NYU dual meets.
5. Wrestling - Almost beat the top-ranked team in the country (Iowa), but the Hawkeyes came back to win, 22-13. Valiant effort by NU, though.
6. Willie the Wildcat – Didn’t see much of Willie this week, but this retro pic reminded me how sweet he can be. All hail the king.
7. Men’s Swimming - No action for the team this week.
8. Men’s Basketball - Losing to a top ten team like Michigan State (and not losing by that much) isn’t so bad. Falling to a highly disappointing University of Illinois squad in the only matchup of the year between the in-state rivals… now that’s just embarrassing.
9. Women’s Basketball – Can the Wildcats win one Big Ten game? After another winless week featuring lopsided losses to Purdue and Wisconsin, the answer looks less and less positive.