The Wildcats’ lacrosse team suffered a 15-3 defeat at the hands of Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The loss eliminated Northwestern and ended its season in South Bend, Indiana.
Notre Dame got out to an early 4-goal lead in just over 10 minutes of game time, which would ultimately prove too big of a lead for NU to overcome. Fighting Irish attackers Cortney Fortunato and Grace Muller led the way with 4 goals apiece.
For the Cats, Selena Lasota, Christina Esposito and Kaleigh Craig each scored one goal. Freshman goalie Mallory Weisse made 10 saves.
In a valiant effort to try to topple its first top-5 ranked opponent since 2014, Northwestern came up short to No. 3 North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Championships, 4-2.
The match had a tough start with the Wildcats losing the doubles point, but sophomore Alex Chatt quickly earned NU its first singles point of the day. Half of all singles matches went to a third set.
Sophomore Maddie Lipp at court No. 2, senior Alicia Barnett at court No. 3 and junior Brooke Rischbieth at court No. 6 all gave their opponents runs for their money. The only other singles victory came from Lipp and the final blow came from Rischbieth’s loss at No. 6.
The Wildcats end the season with a 14-11 overall record.
Northwestern defeated a feisty Valparaiso team 4-1 Saturday to advance a round of 32 NCAA Tournament matchup with Stanford.
The match began well for NU when it won the doubles point with victories at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. This has become a trend for the Cats as juniors Konrad Zieba and Sam Shropshire and junior Alp Horoz and senior Mihir Kumar have winning streak of four and six matches, respectively.
NU got off to a strong start in singles when they won 5-of-6 first sets. Shropshire quickly took care of business and won 6-3, 6-2 to give the Cats a 2-0 lead.
Senior Fedor Baev got off to a shaky start in his match, but even after he regained his form in the second set, his opponent’s excellent serving was too much and caused Baev to fall 6-2, 7-5.
After cruising in the first set, Kirchheimer found himself down 5-3 in the second and forced to break serve to avoid a third set. After doing so, he reeled off four straight games to win the match, his 13th in a row.
Two of the three remaining matches went to third sets and freshman Ben Vandixhorn secured the final point with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
On Sunday, the Cats will host No. 29 Stanford with their first berth in the round of 16 since 1997 on the line.
In the next installment of our Curtain Call series profiling Northwestern seniors, Benjy Apelbaum takes a look at men’s tennis senior Fedor Baev and his time with the Wildcats. Additionally, we have some weekend previews on tap…
Claire Hansen takes a look at the lacrosse team’s opening round game for the NCAA Tournament.
Garrett Jochnau writes about the men’s tennis team attempting to advance past the NCAA Regionals for the first time in a while.
Robbie Markus describes a women’s tennis team hungry for more success in their own NCAA Regional match after a solid Big Ten season.
Ben Pope highlights Senior Day festivities for the baseball team in their final home series against Cal.
After securing the .500 record it needed to be eligible for the NCAA Tournament with a first-round victory in the Big Ten Tournament, Northwestern’s lacrosse team received an at-large bid to the NCAAs after falling to Maryland in today’s Big Tens title game. The Wildcats will take on Louisville in a rematch of a 10-4 defeat on the road earlier this season.
Northwestern’s varsity seasons are winding down, but our coverage of the teams isn’t. Here’s what you need to know for Friday…
Claire Hansen reviews a dominant win for lacrosse, which guaranteed the Wildcats eligibility for the NCAA Tournament.
Ben Pope previews a weekend series for baseball against Purdue, pitting the two worst teams in the Big Ten against each other.
Marty Johnson writes about the softball team’s last series of the season — Northwestern needs to win all three games to finish the regular season at .500.
The Northwestern softball team is entering its final road stretch in dire need of a few wins to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Melissa Haniff previewed the Cats’ upcoming slate.
In other news…
Tyler VanderMolen dove into the professional career of former NU golf star Matt Fitzpatrick, who participated in the Masters last month.
Garrett Jochnau wrote about Northwestern men’s tennis retaining its top-16 rank and earning the right to host the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
Ben Pope previewed the baseball team’s final opportunity to secure a win over cross-town rival UIC.
Lacrosse star Selena Lasota earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors after a career-high 8 goals.
The Women’s tennis team also earned themselves an NCAA Tournament bid and will face Ole Miss in their first round matchup.
The Wildcats received their 18th-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth, the NCAA announced on Tuesday. Ranked No. 30 in the nation, the Cats (13-10, 10-1 Big Ten) draw No. 42 Ole Miss (13-11, 3-10 SEC) in the first round, which will be hosted by North Carolina and will be played on Friday, May 13.
A first-round victory would pit Northwestern against the winner of No. 3 North Carolina and East Tennessee State in a second-round duel, also hosted by the Tar Heels. Subsequent matches will be played in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Northwestern has advanced to the tournament’s Round of 16 in 12 of their last 17 berths, and to the national quarterfinals three times.