While you were out on sunny beaches or kicking it back home, many of Northwestern’s athletic squads were doing work both in Evanston and away. North by Northwestern is here to recap each squad’s efforts during Spring Break.
BASEBALL
It hasn’t been the sunniest of starts for Northwestern’s baseball squad. Entering Wednesday’s home contest against Valparaiso, the Wildcats stand at 7-13, suffering a brutal 3-6 record during spring break. The pitching staff gave up an average of 5.4 runs in nine contests, a number that was lowlighted by the 11-run massacre against Massachusetts on March 19. There are some glimmers of good fortune; freshman Jack Quigley earned his first pitching victory against Campbell last Friday, the ‘Cats secured the rubber match victory against Campbell to win their first series of the season and senior third baseman Chris Lashmet continued a solid campaign at the plate, averaging a .380 hitting percentage.
SOFTBALL
Rain and Wolverines put a damper on the softball squad’s Spring Break plans. A trip to No. 13 Stanford rained out a number of contests, but the squad was able to play four matches, including two contests against the host Cardinal, but dropping both matches in identical 6-5 losses. The ‘Cats followed up with identical 8-0 mercy victories against St. Mary’s, but the opening Big Ten conference foe -– No. 4 Michigan –- dropped Northwestern’s home opener fanfare with scores of 2-1 and 7-4. The ‘Cats, sitting pretty at 14-9, will now look to improve on their initial homestand with contests against locals Loyola, DePaul and NIU this weekend.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
After falling to Ohio State in overtime to end their Big Ten tournament run, the Wildcats secured a fourth seed in the NIT and blitzed both UW-Milwaukee and No. 1-seeded Boston College before falling to the Cougars of Washington State in a 69-66 overtime thriller. The three-game run through the NIT marked the deepest effort ever by a Northwestern squad, and saw senior Michael “Juice” Thompson’s career end on a bittersweet note.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
After blowing away Creighton in the opening round of the WNIT to the tune of an 89-63 final, the ‘Cats fell to an overachieving Alabama squad that beat the Wildcats at Welsh-Ryan Arena in a 72-70 performance. The contest was lost in the final seconds as senior Meshia Reed couldn’t drop in a last-gasp layup to force overtime. The loss ends the illustrious careers of Reed, Beth Marshall and Amy Jaeschke.
MEN’S GOLF
At the FAU Spring Break Championship this past weekend, the NU squad fell behind after posting a solid seventh-place ranking the first day, and then fell to eleventh in both the second and final days of the tournament. Freshman Brad Shigezawa broke out to end the tournament as the 22nd overall player, tied with senior David Lipsky, but the surprise of the tournament came from senior Ravi Patel, who competed in the tournament as an individual. Patel tied for seventh in the tournament after posting scores of 70, 74 and 70 to complete a stellar run in the spring break tourney.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
After securing a torrid 6-0 start to the season, earning victories against four ranked teams, the Wildcats took down another three ranked teams over the break, including an 18-8 drumming of William & Mary at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. The total nine victories leaves the ‘Cats looking as strong as ever, as they look to reclaim their once-lost title of national champions, facing powerhouse No. 3-ranked Duke this Saturday at Lakeside Field.
MEN’S SWIMMING
Two highlight Wildcats placed exceptional times in the NCAA Championships this past weekend to end their careers. Senior Alex Tyler finished with a career-best in the 200 breaststroke and placed 23rd overall and secured honorable mention All-American commendations for his performance in the 200 IM. Fellow senior Sean Mathews earned his own honorable mention All-American achievement with his 15th place finish in the 200 fly.
WOMEN’S FENCING
Five ‘Cats took part in the NCAA Championships this past weekend in Columbus, Ohio, led by second-team All-American freshman Dina Bazarbayeva and honorable mention sophomore Dayana Sarkisova. Sophomore epee Kate Cavanaugh, junior foil Devynn Patterson and sophomore sabre Chloe Grainger placed 19th, 20th and 21st in their respective categories. The Wildcat squad finished for a final team ranking of eighth in the tournament.
MEN’S TENNIS
Northwestern finished last weekend’s slate with a 1-2 performance, but dropped the first two conference matches to begin conference play 0-2. The lone victory came against Florida Gulf Coast, blitzing the hosts by a final of 6-1. The opening Big Ten match against No. 22 Minnesota ended in the same score, as NU lost the opening set 6-1 before dropping the second Big Ten match against Wisconsin by a closer margin of 4-3.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Two contests over Spring Break left the ‘Cats feeling good, going 4-0 against UC Santa Barbara and notching their second victory in conference play. Northwestern dropped visiting Wisconsin by a margin of 7-0 this past weekend, continuing a streak of 14 straight won matches in Big Ten play. The ‘Cats next travel to Ohio State this weekend to look to continue their good fortunes on the road.