Northwestern
The Prestige
This Week in Northwestern Athletics: Feb 15
2/16/2021 10:07:00 AM | Men's Golf, Men's Soccer, Men's Tennis, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Soccer, Women's Tennis, Women's Volleyball, Wrestling, Women's Fencing
Northwestern University Athletics will have nine programs in action this week, in addition to men's and women's basketball. Four teams will have double-header weekends and three will begin Big Ten play.
Men's Golf
Monday through Wednesday the 'Cats will be in La Quinta, California battling it out at The Prestige hosted by PGA West. The team matches will be played on the Greg Norman course, while the individual context will be held at the Coral Mountain Club. A total of 24 teams will be participating, and as six of the current top 15 teams will be in attendance it promises to be a competitive tournament.
Men's Golf last saw the green in early February for Big Ten Match Play, where they impressed. The 'Cats were able to find wins in their first three rounds over Minnesota, Michigan State, and Purdue before falling to Penn State. The 'Cats garnered 11 individual wins, with Senior Eric McIntosh beating three of his four opponents.
Wrestling
Due to the postponement of Northwestern's match against Iowa, the 'Cats will only have one opponent this week. On Sunday they will travel to face Minnesota for what may be their last dual meet of the 2021 season.
Northwestern is currently 2-5 on the season with wins against Maryland and No. 19 Wisconsin last Sunday. Five 'Cats came out victorious against the Badgers, including #1 Ryan Deakin who shined in his season debut. Colin Validiviez started the winning streak for the Wildcats, #14 Yayha Thomas, Deakin and capped off by first-year David Ferrante's first collegiate win. Jon Halvorsen was also able to secure a victory.
Thomas has a 6-1 record this season, his only loss coming at the hands of #8 Mike Carr. Meanwhile #3 Michael DeAugustino has remained undefeated on the season, although he did not compete against the Badgers.
Women's Volleyball
After postponing three matches, volleyball will return to the court against Purdue in West Lafayette for a double-header on Friday and Saturday. The last time the Wildcats faced Purdue the Boilermakers were ranked in the top 20 and swept, but Northwestern has seen some early success this season which will keep them competitive with Purdue.
Before their three week hiatus, the Wildcats came out firing in their season-opener against Rutgers; sweeping the Scarlet Knights in both matches. Sophomore Temi Thomas-Ailara was the star of both matches leading the court both nights with 13 and 16 kills respectively. Senior Alana Walker came in second with 11 kills in their first match while redshirt Sophomore Abryanna Cannon followed Thomas-Ailara in their second sweep with 14 kills. All three had more kills than any Rutgers player.
Men's Tennis
The Wildcats will open Big Ten play at home against Ohio State and Penn State on Friday and Sunday respectively. Northwestern will return to the court after taking home a win against No. 23 Duke in the ITA Kickoff Weekend, 4-0.
Northwestern came out firing in the doubles matches with two wins, picked up by the #57 pair Simen Bratholm and Nick Brookes, and Chris Ephran and Gleb Blekher. Bratholm went on to quickly find a win over his singles opponent alongside Trice Pickens and Presley Thieneman, sweeping Duke 4-0, leaving the last three singles matches unfinished.
Men's Soccer
Northwestern will host its season opener and begin Big Ten play against Michigan on Friday. When the Wildcats last faced Michigan in 2019 they dropped a hard road game, 0-3.
However, the 'Cats had a successful season last year going 8-8-2 overall and 3-3-2 in conference, highlighted by an early win over No. 25 Maryland.
Lacrosse
After a spectacular 23-7 season-opening win against the Buckeyes, the Wildcats will travel to Baltimore to face John's Hopkins on Friday and Sunday. The last time the 'Cats faced the Blue Jays, they came out with a 20-13 win, aided by four goals from Izzy Scane and three from Lauren Gilbert.
Since then, both Scane and Gilbert have picked up their offensive production. Scane notched a career-high nine goals against the Buckeyes last Sunday, tying a single-game program record for goals in a game set by Selena Lasota. Gilbert chipped in six goals, tying her previous career high set last year against Stanford. Eight other Wildcats found the back of the net against Ohio State, including first-years Leah Holmes and Kendall Halpern.
Northwestern also locked things down on defense with Madison Doucette shutting the Buckeyes out in the first half with five saves. The 'Cats also caused eight turnovers and picked up nine ground balls, outpacing Ohio State in both categories.
Women's Soccer
The Wildcats will begin Big Ten Play and a three-game home stretch on Saturday against Indiana. The last time Northwestern faced the Hoosiers was in 2018, where they picked up a 2-1 win.
The 'Cats had a respectable season in 2019, going 5-10-3 overall and 3-6-2 in conference. Northwestern picked up its three conference wins against Nebraska, Iowa and Michigan State.
Women's Tennis
On Sunday, No. 8 Northwestern will face its Illinois rivals at the Combe Tennis Center. The Wildcats have had a fairy tale start to the season. They are currently 6-1, with four wins coming over ranked opponents and are looking to continue a four-match winning streak.
Their last win came over Iowa, 6-1. Maria Shusharina, Clarissa Hand, Briana Crowley, Caroline Pozo and Christina Hand all found wins in their single's matches; meanwhile the duos of Briana Crowley and Christina Hand, and Maria Shusharina and Clarissa Hand dominated the doubles.
The last time the Wildcats faced the Fighting Illini was in 2019 where they came away with a 5-2 win to kick off a five-game winning streak.
Fencing
Northwestern is currently 6-3 on the season and maintaining a four-game winning streak after taking down Wayne State and Lawrence. On Sunday, the 'Cats will face both Lawrence and Notre Dame in their second tri-dual at Patten Gymnasium.
The Wildcats took home dominant wins in their previous matches against Lawrence, 22-5 and 25-2. Sophi Brill (epee) went 8-0 while Julia Falinska (epee) and Alyssa Chen (foil) both went 6-0. Northwestern only had eight losses total, with 11 'Cats going undefeated.
Players Mentioned
