Northwestern University Athletics
Zimmer Wins Freshman of the Year, Three Wildcats Earn All-Big Ten Honors
4/19/2021 2:40:00β―PM | Field Hockey
Marks the second-straight season in which the Wildcats have won the conference's Big Ten Freshman of the Year Award.
EVANSTON, Ill. β First-year Maddie Zimmer was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, the conference announced on Monday.Β
Three Wildcats earned All-Big Ten honors, with Zimmer and Junior Kayla Blas earning first team accolades and sophomore Bente Baekers receiving second team honors.Β
Zimmer started 13 games for Northwestern, scoring three goals and recording an assist. She is the second consecutive Wildcat to win the award, after Bente Baekers was named 2019 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. It is the first time in program history that two players have been named Freshman of the Year in consecutive seasons. The Hershey, Pa. native is the third player in program history to win the award.
Kayla Blas joins Zimmer as First Team All-Big Ten honorees. Northwestern is one of four teams with multiple First Team honorees.Β
It is the second All-Big Ten accolade for Blas after earning Second Team honors last season. She tallied four assists on the season while holding down the Wildcats' defense which allowed only 19 goals in 14 games.Β
Sophomore Bente Baekers earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors, a year after being named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Baekers led the team with 10 goals, five assists and 41 shots on target.
Sophomore goalkeeper Abby Renaud earned the Big Ten Sportsmanship award. The students chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These students must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition.
The Wildcats head to Iowa City this week for the Big Ten Tournament. They will take on Rutgers in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. CT in the first round, then will play the semi-finals on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. with a win. The finals are set for Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.
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Three Wildcats earned All-Big Ten honors, with Zimmer and Junior Kayla Blas earning first team accolades and sophomore Bente Baekers receiving second team honors.Β
Zimmer started 13 games for Northwestern, scoring three goals and recording an assist. She is the second consecutive Wildcat to win the award, after Bente Baekers was named 2019 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. It is the first time in program history that two players have been named Freshman of the Year in consecutive seasons. The Hershey, Pa. native is the third player in program history to win the award.
Kayla Blas joins Zimmer as First Team All-Big Ten honorees. Northwestern is one of four teams with multiple First Team honorees.Β
It is the second All-Big Ten accolade for Blas after earning Second Team honors last season. She tallied four assists on the season while holding down the Wildcats' defense which allowed only 19 goals in 14 games.Β
Sophomore Bente Baekers earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors, a year after being named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Baekers led the team with 10 goals, five assists and 41 shots on target.
Sophomore goalkeeper Abby Renaud earned the Big Ten Sportsmanship award. The students chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These students must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition.
The Wildcats head to Iowa City this week for the Big Ten Tournament. They will take on Rutgers in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. CT in the first round, then will play the semi-finals on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. with a win. The finals are set for Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.
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Players Mentioned
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