Lauren Wadas and Annabel Skubisz Reflect on Northwestern’s Championship Run and Their Legacy
12/6/2024 4:34:00 PM | Field Hockey
Fifth years Lauren Wadas and Annabel Skubisz joined the latest episode of NUFH Said to chat about the 'Cats' national championship game victory over St. Joseph's and what it meant to wrap up their Wildcat careers on top.
They also reminisced about some of their favorite moments as part of the program and what it was that made this such a special group to be a part of.
An excerpt of the conversation is below, edited and condensed for clarity and brevity. For the full interview, check out the latest episode of NUFH Said on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Eric Rynston-Lobel: Did the way Maddie Zimmer came out and played in the championship game even surprise you any more, or is that just what you expect?
Lauren Wadas: She's an elite player, and very professional in everything that she does. So it doesn't surprise me that she comes out every game, every practice ready to go.
Annabel Skubisz: I think Maddie actually really does elevate the level of play on the team. So it's amazing playing with her. But then, as a side note, I'll say I feel like our team was so strong and also had such a good cultural connection that people could have off days, and we could still thrive. During the national championship, I think every single player was on their best day, on their front foot that day, which is why we were able to just kill it. But I don't think we place heavy pressure on anybody that they have to be the one to perform.
Wadas: Which is a fun environment to be in. Also, I think we've gotten a lot of praise for our depth this year, and, like Annabel said, that just attests to the culture and the team we have, and that it's OK to have a bad day, and we'll be able to pick each other up and keep going.
Rynston-Lobel: What was it like to watch UNC lose before taking the field to play UMass in the Final Four?
Skubisz: I think emotions were weird, honestly, after watching that happen because I think the whole team was excited for a possible rematch against UNC, me included. I'd love to play them again. They're a fun team to play. I think to a certain extent, before UNC had played, we were maybe thinking ahead to the national championship. Once UNC lost, it was kind of like, 'Oh, really anything can happen in this game. Don't think about making it to the final, think about winning this game.' I think it gave us some focus in the semifinal, but it was definitely difficult for us to lock in for that game, I think, compared to other games.
Rynston-Lobel: What do you think was that made this particular team special and worthy of this?
Wadas: I was just gonna say our culture. And I know we've said this for the past few years as well, but I truly believe it's a difference-maker, and how you can connect with your teammates off the field translates on the field, and we had another great culture again this year, and we are truly, really great friends outside of field hockey. So that makes me feel so much more connected to everyone while I'm on the field as well.
Skubisz: I don't know if there's ever a team that does or does not deserve the win; like all of us, are putting in countless hours of work. All of us have the same end goal and have committed to play college hockey because we have the same dream. I think some years it falls in your favor, and some years it doesn't. But the teams that end up getting to the end, or the teams that have done the work off the field, outside of the pitch, really working on team culture. And they're the kids who want to spend the extra time together.
