As Northwestern’s basketball season nears its start and football approaches bowl season, let’s take a look around at other Northwestern sports making headlines.
THUMBS UP
Northwestern’s basketball seasons open with promise
Coming off wins in their exhibition matchups, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams open their regular seasons Friday. The men’s team will head on the road to open at Northern Illinois and the women’s team will host Dartmouth. Coach Carmody’s squad will begin the 2010-2011 campaign hoping to improve on last year’s school record 20-win season. On the women’s side, the Wildcats’ center Amy Jaeschke was named to the Lowe’s Senior Class Award candidate list. Basketball on both fronts seems primed for successful years.
THUMBS DOWN
Northwestern falls to Sparty in Big Ten Tournament
Northwestern’s women’s field hockey saw its team come to a close at the hands of the ladies of Michigan State. Freshman Nikki Parsley scored her eighth goal of the season, but it was not enough as the Wildcats fell 3-1 to #10 Michigan State. All in all, it was a somewhat successful season for the field hockey team, who finished up 11-9 overall, 3-3 in the Big Ten.
THUMBS UP
Men’s and women’s swimming on a fast pace
After an 0-2 start to the season, both the men’s and women’s swim teams got back on track by sweeping the meet at the Norris Aquatics Center Saturday. Northwestern took all three duals on Saturday, beating UW-Milwaukee (184-113), UIC (164-133) and North Dakota (231-64). The focus now turns to Thursday’s meet against Wisconsin, and it remains to be seen if the Wildcats will carry that momentum into the next meet.
THUMBS DOWN
Women’s soccer bows to Illinois
The season has come to a close for the Northwestern women’s soccer team. Northwestern battled, but eventually fell to No. 16 Illinois 1-0. A 6-10-3 record leaves some a bit unsatisfied with the Wildcats’ season, but their effort is always noteworthy. The ‘Cats took 15 shots against Illinois, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Going forward, Northwestern graduates six seniors, so come soccer season next year, the Wildcats will be a new-look crew.
THUMBS UP
Coach Drew Pariano notches first two Division I wins
The No. 18 Wildcats opened the season with a contested win against Stanford. The ‘Cats have a new coach this year, and he started off on the right foot. Drew Pariano, a former wrestler at Northwestern, had been an assistant for five years before getting his chance to lead the resurgent Wildcats wrestling program. The ‘Cats also took the fight to Menlo College and dispatched the opponents handily to improve to 2-0. The next matchup for the Wildcats bring the fight back to Evanston where the Wildcats will hope to continue the promising start to the season.
THUMBS UP
Women’s volleyball hits a snag
No. 24 Northwestern fell to Wisconsin Saturday 3-2 in a five-set match. Northwestern is 17-8 (7-7) on the season, but the loss to Wisconsin was hard-fought. Senior Sabel Moffett had a career-best 27 kills, but it wasn’t enough for Northwestern. Four other Wildcats posted double-digit kills for Northwestern, but Wisconsin was able to pull out the five-set victory. Going forward, the volleyball team has six games remaining, all of which come against Big Ten opponents.