While campus was busy watching the 'Cats lose to Minnesota (twice) or the rematch of the 1980 Miracle on Ice, a slew of other Northwestern teams competed across the country. The softball and baseball teams' seasons are just underway, while squads like men's golf returned to the green after a three-month hiatus. Some teams rose and others fell, but chances are you missed these headlines while you were shuffling through inches of un-shoveled snow.
Softball
The softball team played in the Tiger Invitational in Baton Rouge, La., where they went 4-1, including a 2-1 win against No. 18 South Alabama. Junior pitcher Amy Letourneau pitched a complete game against South Alabama, only yielding one run and three hits. She also had five strikeouts, bringing her season record to 2-0. The team’s only loss this weekend came to No. 21 LSU. Overall, the team’s season record is 7-2. The ‘Cats play again next weekend in the Mary Nutter Classic in Cathedral City, Calif.
Baseball
The beginning of this season hasn’t gone the Wildcats’ way after losing all three games to USC in Los Angeles last weekend. Two of these three games – which were the first three of the season – were decided in extra innings, including the second game, which the ‘Cats lost 2-1 in 15 innings. The next time Northwestern takes the diamond will be next weekend in the Snowbird Classic, where they will play four games in Port Charlotte, Fla.
Men’s golf
In its first action since November, the golf team played in the B1G Match Play Championship in Bradenton, Fla., and took third place. The team went 2-1 on the weekend, beating Indiana and Iowa, and losing to Purdue. The ‘Cats are now 18-3 all-time in the six-year history of this tournament. Their next tournament is the Puerto Rico Classic, held in Rio Grande, P.R., and hosted by Purdue. They’ll play Feb. 23-25.
Women’s tennis
It was a bittersweet weekend when the women’s tennis team traveled down to Texas and took on the University of Texas and Baylor. After defeating the No. 17 Longhorns 5-2 on Saturday, the 'Cats lost to No. 18 Baylor 5-2. No. 58-ranked Belinda Niu went undefeated on the weekend, taking out her Texas opponent 6-4, 7-6 (7-2). She later defeated her Baylor opponent 6-2, 3-2. Their next action is Feb. 20 at Indiana.
Men’s tennis
After traveling to No. 56 Middle Tennessee State, the No. 30 Wildcats defeated the Blue Raiders 4-3 in a comeback victory. After seceding the doubles point in two matches, the ‘Cats roared back with victories from freshmen Strong Kirchheimer and Sam Shropshire and senior Raleigh Smith. The victory by sophomore Fedor Baev clinched a Northwestern victory.
Wrestling
In the last match at home for the 2013-2014 season, the No. 10 Wildcats earned a hard-fought 20-19 victory over the Stanford Cardinal. Northwestern won the final three matchups, including two in overtime, netting the comeback. No. 1 heavyweight Mike McMullan clinched the victory when he won his match, his last career bout on a Northwestern mat. From here, the team will travel to Durham, N.C. and take on North Carolina State and Duke next weekend.
Women’s fencing
Three freshmen represented the women’s fencing team when they traveled to Portland, Ore., to participate in the United States Fencing Association Junior Olympic Championships last weekend. The three freshmen were Stephanie Chan, Stella Pointeau and Cindy Oh. Of the three, Chan had the best finish, placing 28th out of 128 total fencers. Oh finished 41st and Pointeau came in 72nd.
Women’s golf
Northwestern finished the second of three rounds Monday in the Lady Puerto Rico Classic held in Rio Mar, Puerto Rico. After finishing Sunday, they were in ninth place as a team, but jumped up to fifth place today with a cumulative score of 15-over 591. Sophomore Suchaya Tangkamolprasert shot a career-low 69 today, which helped spark the Wildcats’ jump. They’re currently 20 strokes behind the leader, Arkansas, and will play the tournament’s final round Tuesday.