Northwestern University Athletics
Fuchs, Northwestern Adds Six with 2010 Freshman Class
2/25/2010 12:00:00β―AM | Field Hockey
Feb. 25, 2010
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After completing her first full recruiting cycle as Northwestern head coach, Tracey Fuchs has announced the addition of six players to her 2010 Wildcat squad. Her group of incoming recruits includes accomplished players covering all positions and drawing from recruiting hotbeds in Illinois, New York, Michigan and Delaware.
"I am very excited to welcome our 2010 freshman class and to get on the field with them next season," Fuchs said. "All of these student-athletes are extremely talented and played for very talented high school programs and club teams. They are going to make an immediate impact on our program at Northwestern both on and off the field."
Northwestern, coming off a season in which it posted its highest win total since 1995, will add the following players to its roster starting next season: Catherine Franklin (Houston, Texas/St. John's School), Nikki Parsley (Milford, Del./Milford), Julia Retzky (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), Kelsey Thompson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer), Kaitlin Williams (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) and Kristin Wirtz (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest).
Complete bios of each player can be found below along with quotes from Tracey Fuchs.
Catherine Franklin
MID
Houston, Texas/St. John's School
High School: Captain and four-year letterwinner at St. John's, scoring 41 goals with 32 assists ... Two-year participant of the AAU Junior Olympics team, helping the team to a gold medal in 2008 ... Member of Futures Elite in 2009 ... NFHCA All-Region and all-conference selection in 2007 and 2008 ... All-South Zone in 2009 ... Also a four-year letterwinner in lacrosse, receiving all-state honors in 2008 and 2009 South District All-Star recognition ... 48 goals with 25 assists in lacrosse ... Played three years for Houston Hockey Club ... National Merit Scholar semifinalist.
Personal: Born Catherine Colt Franklin ... Daughter of Cynthia and Ron Franklin ... ... Chose Northwestern over Michigan, Cornell and Washington & Lee ... Plans to major in communications.
Quoting Coach Fuchs: "Catherine has shown herself to be very versatile and able to help her team's offense in a variety of ways and she'll solidify our midfield for years to come."
Nikki Parsley
FWD/MID
Milford, Del./Milford
High School: Four year varsity starter and captain her senior year in field hockey and softball ... Scored 64 career goals ... Garnered all-state and all-conference selection honors ... Named team MVP her junior and senior year in field hockey ... Leaves high school holding career record for most goals scored ... Selected to the Olympic Development team ... Club team won National Field Hockey Festival and National Indoor Tournament ... Led softball team to a state championship her senior year ... Member of the National Honor Society ... Graduated with a 4.0 GPA.
Personal: Born Lara Nicole Parsley ... Daughter of Don and Bonnie Parsley ... Father wrestled at Lock Haven ... Brother is currently a swimmer at Rowan University ... Chose Northwestern over Old Dominion, James Madison, Indiana and Louisville ... Majoring in education and history.
Quoting Coach Fuchs: "Nikki is an exciting player and will contribute right away on our forward line. She will be very dangerous for opposing defenders and will make things happen inside our attacking 25."
Julia Retzky
MID/BACK
Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest
High School: Captain and three-time letterwinner in field hockey ... Team won State Championship in 2008, runners up in 2007 and 2009 ... Four-time selection to the National Futures Team ... Futures Elite selection ... All area and all conference recognition in softball ... Member of the Windy City Club Team ... Led club team to first place finish in their pool at National Field Hockey Festival in 2008 ... Five-time Winter Club Team MVP ... Commended National Merit Scholar ... Member of the National Honor Society.
Personal: Born Julia Suzanne Retzky ... Daughter of Chuck and Laurie Retzky ... Chose Northwestern over Dartmouth, Richmond and Providence ... Played club alongside fellow incoming freshman Kristin Wirtz ... Majoring in biology.
Quoting Coach Fuchs: "Julia is such a skilled player and has really good hands and attacking skills. She will be able to contribute both in midfield and on defense for us."
Kelsey Thompson
MID/BACK
Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer
High School: Four-time letterwinner and two-time first-team all-state selection at Pioneer ... Named all-region, Washtenaw County Player of the Year and team MVP in 2009 ... Member of and leader on four consecutive Michigan state championship teams, completing her entire high school career with only one loss ... Member of Ann Arbor Field Hockey Club for the last four years ... Played in Futures tournament from 2005-08 and Futures Elite in 2009 ... National Hockey Festival pool champion in 2008 ... Compiled a team-best 40 assists over junior and senior seasons ... Also a captain and four-year letterwinner in lacrosse ... Member of National Honor Society.
Personal: Born Kelsey Anne Thompson ... Daughter of Greg and Ramona Thompson ... Chose Northwestern over Michigan, Brown and Harvard ... High school teammate of current NU senior Zoe Almquist ... Father played football at Harvard and older brother (Bart) plays lacrosse and rows at Stanford ... Major is undecided.
Quoting Coach Fuchs: "Kelsey is a great athlete, and can play on any line for us. She is an ultimate team player and will make an immediate impact for NU."
Kaitlyn Williams
GK
Garden City, N.Y./Garden City
High School: Four-time letterwinner as goalkeeper ... Won 66 of 69 games in which she played ... Allowed no goals in the 2007 and 2008 regular seasons, while allowing only 2 goals in the 2009 regular season ... All-Conference selection ... Helped her squad to a state championship as well as a runner-up finish ... Team was four-time league and county champions during her career ... Career save percentage of .987 ... Also received varsity letter in badminton ... Club team invited to high pool play at National Field Hockey Festival and Disney Showcase ... Exploravision National Honorable Mention.
Personal: Born Kaitlyn Howley Williams ... Daughter of Jeanne and Richard Williams ... Sister, Jeanne, played soccer at St. Francis University (Pa.) ... Sister, Kimberly, played lacrosse at St. Joseph University (Pa.) ... Father attend Northwestern's Kellogg School of Business ... Chose Northwestern over Princeton, Amherst, Hamilton, Northeastern and Bates ... Majoring in cognitive sciences and pre-medicine.
Quoting Coach Fuchs: "Kaitlin comes to us from a very good high school team, and will grow as a GK for Northwestern. She has good skills and will develop into a great collegiate goalkeeper."
Kristin Wirtz
MID/BACK
Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest
High School: 2009 All-State selection ... Three-time winner of school's Sportsmanship Award ... Competed in 2009 National Futures Tournament after being selected to Midwest Regional Team ... Team was the state runner-up in Illinois in her junior season ... Four-year member of Windy City Flyers club team, which placed first and second in its pool at Festival in 2008 and 2009, respectively ... Dean's List student and member of Spanish Honor Society.
Personal: Born Kristin Catherine Wirtz ... Daughter of Jeff and Kathy Wirtz ... Also highly involved in symphony orchestra and figure skating during high school ... Chose Northwestern over Cornell, Saint Louis, Kent State and Missouri State ... High school coach, Lauren Przyborowski, is a Northwestern alum ... Majoring in education.
Quoting Coach Fuchs: "Kristen is a very strong player. She works very hard on improving her game and will help solidify our defensive unit."
