It took tying a NCAA record by winning their 40th straight home game Sunday, but Lacrosse finally grabs the top spot in power rankings from Womens’ Tennis. Wildcat Tennis shouldn’t be bummed though as they clinched their eight Big Ten title in ten years. The rest of NU athletics performed per usual with softball looking solid, Men’s Tennis not so hot and fencing still idle.
1. Lacrosse - The Wildcats faced a tough task in subduing John Hopkins, but the ‘Cats prevailed 14-12. NU cruised later in the week, downing North Carolina 16-3 on Senior Day. The win gave Northwestern an NCAA record 40-straight home wins. A trip to the University of Pennsylvania is now the only obstacle standing between the ‘Cats and an undefeated season.
2. Women’s Tennis - These ‘Cats are riding a pretty impressive streak of their own. They won 17 straight games after beating Michigan State 7-0, winning another Big Ten regular season championship in the process. Next up, the Big Ten Championship.
3. Softball - It was a super busy week for softball. NU started things off by blanking Notre Dame 5-0, then hosted two other Indiana squads. The Wildcats swept Indiana and Purdue, finishing perfect for the week.
4. Women’s Golf - Senior Katie Trachok finished in 10th place at the Lady Buckeye Invitational, helping to guide the Wildcats to a fourth place finish overall at the event. Junior Jennifer Hong finished one stroke behind Trachok, ending in 11th place.
5. Baseball – Nothing but Iowa for baseball this week, which turned out to be a good thing. NU clonked Iowa 13-5 in game one before dropping the next contest 8-3. That’s the only win the Hawkeyes would muster, as NU took the rest of the series 13-6 and 9-6.
6. Men’s Golf – The Wildcats placed 11th overall at the Boilermaker Invitational, guided by senior Dan Doyle’s fifth place finish.
7. Men’s Tennis – One match, one loss. Men’s Tennis wrapped up their regular season by losing on the road to Michigan State in a close 4-3 contest. Maybe they can catch fire during the Big Ten Tournament.
8. Fencing – This Friday, the USFA North American Cup. And no more inactivity.