SPORTS/Lacrosse

Monday, April 18, 2022 @DailyNU_Sports

LACROSSE Seniors, grad students lead NU to Senior Day victory

Jorje Melendez/The Daily Northwestern

By CHARLOTTE VARNES daily senior staffer @charvarnes11

When Northwestern faced Johns Hopkins on Saturday in a Senior Day battle, graduate attacker Lauren Gilbert fittingly stole the show.

Gilbert was seemingly everywhere: cutting through the eight-meter arc at lightning speed to help the Wildcats jump to an early 2-0 lead; spinning and dodging past her defender to give NU a 7-6 lead at halftime; sneaking past the crease and diving to the ground to put the Wildcats up 17-9 in the fourth quarter.

In the third quarter, however, she and her fellow graduate students shared the spotlight to keep NU in the game. Gilbert, alongside graduate midfielders Jill Girardi and Brennan Dwyer, scored a combined four goals of NU’s eightgoal outbreak during the period.

“(The graduate students and seniors are) really the heart and soul of this team,” coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said. “We have good youth as well, but to have these guys perform and do their thing, it’s been great.”

Their efforts powered the Wildcats (13-2, 5-0 Big Ten) past Johns Hopkins (8-7, 0-4 Big Ten), paving the way to a smooth 19-12 victory despite a bumpy first half.

Amonte Hiller said she expected the Blue Jays, who remain winless in Big Ten play, to enter the game with “desperation” because of their conference standing. So NU prepared for a tough matchup.

“We wanted to play hard and focus on ourselves,” Amonte Hiller said. “We knew they were going to put up a great fight, and we had to wear them down.”

The Blue Jays kept pace with the Wildcats throughout the first half, scoring three times in a row in the second quarter to tie up the game 6-6. Their play off the draw circle wasn’t quite as even with NU, winning five draws to the Cats’ nine during the first half. But Johns Hopkins’ wins still played an important role in trading blows with NU, which ranks third nationally in draw controls per game, and its success on the circle in the first half.

Even as NU struggled to take control in the first half, their upperclassmen buoyed them through. Girardi and Gilbert scored twice in the first half, while Dwyer tallied one goal. Senior goalkeeper Madison Doucette anchored the defense, recording four saves through the first half.

During the break, NU focused mainly on tactical, offensive improvements. The Wildcats recorded eight turnovers during the first quarter, and Girardi said the team wanted to fix that right away. Beyond that, she said members also emphasized playing as a team and “connecting on all cylinders.”

From there, NU took over. The Wildcats outscored the Blue Jays 8-2 in the third quarter, before recording an even, 4-4 fourth quarter.

Girardi’s strong third quarter on the draw played a key role in NU’s surge. She recorded seven draw controls during the period — a big improvement from winning just one in the second quarter — to help the Wildcats gain offensive possessions. Girardi was figuring things out as the game went on, Amonte Hiller said, resulting in “stronger and stronger” play off the circle.

By the end of the matchup, the three graduate students — Girardi, Dwyer and Gilbert — plus one senior, attacker Greta Stahl, had all scored. Their efforts earned a big Senior Day win for their classes on the first relatively normal Senior Day since the beginning of the pandemic. Last year, attendance was primarily limited to family members. Girardi said having the support of both fans and family on this season’s Senior Day was exciting.

“It’s nice to have our families all be together and be with us rather than outside with masks on,” Girardi said. “Being able to have a big celebration [with others] rather than just our team is way different [from last year] and brings so much energy to us.”

charlottevarnes2024@u.northwestern.edu

MEN’S TENNIS Cats fall to Illinois in clash in Champaign

By NATHAN ANSELL daily senior staffer @nathanjansell

It’s been a while since Northwestern defeated Illinois in Champaign. The last time it happened was 1997 — The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize” was on top of the charts, and none of the Wildcats involved in last weekend’s rivalry match were born yet.

The Fighting Illini (10-13, 3-4 Big Ten) extended the streak Saturday, claiming a 4-1 victory against NU (16-8, 4-3 Big Ten). The Cats have now lost 30 of their last 31 matches against Illinois.

Weather conditions varied throughout the weekend, and NU wasn’t sure the match would be played outside until shortly before it started. Before the match, coach Arvid Swan held a morning practice session on the indoor and outdoor courts to prepare for both possibilities.

“Recently, we haven’t played much outdoors,” senior Simen Bratholm said. “It was kind of windy today, so we just had to adapt to the difficult situation.”

The Cats’ woes started in doubles. NU conceded set points on the top two courts almost simultaneously, a frustrating result given the Cats had won both doubles points in last year’s matches against the Fighting Illini.

Singles, on the other hand, got off to a promising start. The Cats took three quick first sets and saw two more go to a tiebreak, but Illinois defeated NU on both of the top two singles courts, the first team to do so in over a year. Sophomore Presley Thieneman recorded the first individual victory of the day, defeating Alex Brown 6-1, 7-5.

“He won 75%, 80% of the ground stroke rallies in the match today,” Swan said. “Off the baseline, Presley was winning the vast majority of the points.”

However, after Thieneman tied the match, Illinois started to gain momentum. No. 30 Steven Forman, a senior, saved four set points in the first set, but both Forman and Bratholm lost their tiebreaks.

Bratholm, who had defeated the same individual opponent in an indoor match in November, struggled with returns.

“He just put more balls into play,” Bratholm said. “I missed a little too much, and he was a better player on the court.”

Forman was broken late in his showdown, resulting in his second straightsets loss of the season. Graduate student Brian Berdusco found breaks, but conceded even more as Illinois took a 3-1 lead.

Senior Trice Pickens had a strong opening, winning five straight games. Pickens had a chance to close the match in the second set, but he too lost a tiebreak.

“I probably didn’t play aggressive enough, in hindsight,” Pickens said. “Sometimes, you lose the breaker, and so it goes.”

Eventually, Bratholm faltered on his own serve, giving the clinching overall point to the Fighting Illini. Pickens and freshman Felix Nordby were both in the middle of third sets when the match was abandoned.

Despite the loss, Swan said the team remains motivated for the upcoming weeks.

“It’s a point here or there,” Swan said. “Illinois did a nice job of getting up in the breakers, which obviously put some pressure on us to stay in it.”

NU’s next match, a midweek faceoff against No. 13 Harvard (15-4, 5-0 Ivy League), comes at a crucial time. With the regular season winding down, the Cats could use a season-defining win for their postseason resume.

The match, originally intended to be played in February, will now interrupt NU’s season in the heart of the Big Ten schedule.

“We just got to take a look in the mirror and say we didn’t do our best today,” Pickens said. “Make sure we have a really productive next few days to get ready for Harvard, and then get ready for these last three regular season matches.”

SOFTBALL NU sweeps series versus Purdue

By GABRIELA CARROLL daily senior staffer @gablcarroll

Rachel Lewis set the all-time Northwestern home run record with her 58th home run of the year Friday during the first matchup of a three-game series against Purdue, kicking off an offensive explosion for the Wildcats, who swept the series with three run-rule victories.

The graduate outfielder’s first home run of the game came late in the second inning, after she’d already gotten on base twice and scored two runs. But Lewis had yet to get a hit until her first home run of the game at the end of the second inning, a three-run blast that put the Cats up 12-0.

With that swing of the bat, Lewis’ tied Tammy Williams (SESP ’09), the previous program home run record holder. Her record-breaking second home run of the game came in the fourth inning. With Williams cheering her on behind the plate, Lewis sent the solo blast out of the park.

“(WIlliams has) been there since day one since I’ve gotten here,” Lewis said. “I’ve known her all these years and always had a huge amount of respect for her. She’s the greatest of all time here. It was just awesome to have her here in my corner.”

Lewis wasn’t the only player who shined offensively against the Boilermakers in the series. Seven NU players recorded an RBI in the series, with six of those players recording multiple.

Senior shortstop Maeve Nelson tied the program record with eight runs batted in Sunday’s 10-2 win against Purdue, with one RBI single, a three-run homer and a grand slam. After the Boilermakers intentionally walked Lewis in the first inning, Nelson said she and the team were “fired up” and ready to deliver the big hits since Lewis could not.

“When one person can’t do it, you just pass the baton to the next person,” Nelson said. “It’s cool to hit

Daily file photo by Joshua Hoffman Sydney Supple delivers a pitch. Supple pitched one inning in relief in NU’s series win over Purdue.

those home runs. But on our team, if (Lewis) is not going to do it, I’m going to do it. If I’m not going to do it, (Angela Zeda is) going to do it. Someone always steps up.”

The Cats’ high offensive output allowed all three games to end in the fifth inning due to the mercy rule, but NU’s pitchers also put in strong performances. Senior pitcher Danielle Williams pitched a shutout in four innings in Friday’s game, and allowed just four hits and two earned runs in her five innings on Sunday. Senior pitcher Lauren Dvorak and sophomore pitcher Lauren Boyd combined to pitch five innings on Saturday, allowing just one run.

NU showed off the depth Lewis said she thinks makes the team a threat to win the College World Series.

“There’s no weak spots in our lineup or on our team,” Lewis said.

But Lewis was still the star of the show this weekend, cementing her place in NU softball history. Coach Kate Drohan pointed to Lewis’ poise and leadership while chasing the record as a big reason for the team’s success this year.

“As Rachel was chasing the record, she was really calm about it,” Drohan said. “She was very poised. It never got too big for her. So now my challenge to her is just to make it untouchable. How high can this record be?”