It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for. The best of the best. The cream of the crop. It’s the 2015-16 Northwestern sports all-name team, brought to you by NBN Sports. But these student-athletes are more than just what’s written on their birth certificates - they are also some of the most accomplished Wildcats around.
Strong Kirchheimer - Men’s Tennis
By Rob Schaefer
The #B1G Men's Tennis Athlete of the week is Strong Kirchheimer from @NUMensTennispic.twitter.com/Msb2DVgChv
— Big Ten Conference (@bigten) March 29, 2016
Kirchheimer’s name is often overlooked in the "best name in Northwestern sports" conversation due to its relatively simple pronounceability. But I’m here to tell you, this is a name to be reckoned with. Kirchheimer, a junior on the tennis team, has compiled a 71-23 overall record in his Northwestern career, with the 2015-2016 season being his best campaign yet. His 22-3 record on the season is the second highest winning percentage (.880) all-time in program history. Pretty “Strong” resume, wouldn’t you say? Undoubtedly, this is a name that, when read by opposing players on the lineup sheet, strikes fear into their very souls.
Suchaya Tangkamolprasert - Women’s Golf
By Tim Hackett
Language of Origin please? All-Big Ten golfer Suchaya Tangkamolprasert hails from Thailand. #B1GCats#SpellingBeepic.twitter.com/RbWmpIsuVQ
— #B1GCats (@NU_Sports) May 29, 2015
Sure, she has a sweet name, but senior women's golfer Suchaya Tangkamolprasert is much more than 23 letters. The native of Bangkok has established herself as one of the most consistent players in recent Northwestern golf history. Her average of 73.66 strokes per round last year was the best single-season average in NU history, and that figure contributed to the best year-long team stroke average in program history. In 2015 she was named to the All-Big Ten First Team, and is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. Tangkamolprasert went 3-0 at the Liz Murphey Classic at the University of Georgia just this weekend, leading the fourth-ranked Wildcats to a sixth-place finish in a loaded field of competitors. Those 23 letters may be a mouthful at first, but Suchaya Tangkamolprasert is a true menace on the course.
Sanjay Lumpkin - Men’s Basketball
By Will Fischer
The defensive leader and a captain of up-and-coming Northwestern men's basketball, the name Sanjay Lumpkin is not one most forget. But despite how well his name rolls off the tongue, Lumpkin’s game is starting to speak for itself. In games when the big man hit a three-pointer this season, the Wildcats were 11-0. In games when he didn’t make a shot from deep, NU was just 9-12. As well as being one of the ‘Cats most consistent rebounders, Lumpkin inspires with his gritty, passionate style of defense. Now going into his senior year, Lumpkin is certainly making a name for himself.
Carks Niedospial - Volleyball
By Max Goodman
Good luck to Carks Niedospial as she begins her tour with U.S. Collegiate National Team today! http://t.co/QoSNHdj0dmpic.twitter.com/RIXC46ODzc
— #B1GCats (@NU_Sports) July 8, 2014
An indispensable member of the Northwestern all-name team is the volleyball star senior they call “Carks”, formally known as Caroline Niedospial. Over the years, Niedospial has offered the Wildcats much more than just her unique nickname. The senior ended her Northwestern career in second place all-time in digs with 1,788. Finishing second in the Big Ten in digs in each of her redshirt sophomore, junior and senior years, Niedospial has undoubtedly left her mark on the school's volleyball program.
Van Donkersgoed – Men's Swimming and Diving
By Andy Brown
Philanthropist, student, athlete, & alum Van Donkersgoed ('12) on success & being himself- https://t.co/K0KRFCNZNrpic.twitter.com/ynsavqnqJt
— Minnehaha Academy (@MinnehahaAcad) January 29, 2016
Good lord, what a name. But like all his fellow teammates on the all-name team the pride of Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is much more than an amazing combination of letters. A senior and two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Donkersgoed has become a bastion of breaststroke efficiency for the Paddlin' 'Cats (name not official), recording NU's fastest 200-meter breaststroke time last season. Perhaps more impressive is his work out of the pool, though, as he, according to NUSports.com, "organized the drafting of local 5-year-old Justin Henry [who suffers from sickle cell anemia] onto the team through the Team IMPACT program." Van Donkersgoed does good. It just makes sense.