Sports
Monday, April 20, 2015
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Softball’s Naegele back on field after injury Chris Loggins Staff Writer T @NSSportsLoggins
DeKalb | Softball junior catcher Emily Naegele is getting back in her groove with the Huskies as the season heads into the home stretch. In two seasons at NIU, Naegele has turned into a huge player for the Huskies with 11 home runs, six triples, 99 hits and a collection of more accolades. There’s still nine games to go after she returned from an unspecified injury early this season. “Naegele was hurt early on,” said head coach Christina Sutcliffe. “She’s finally back from her injury and is where everybody else was. She lost four or five months of training. She’s playing some catch-up. It’s a matter of getting her feet wet again and getting back in the groove and seeing live pitching. She’s back to where she left off last year.” After a year of playing at Radford, Naegele transferred to NIU, where she said she was intrigued by the bigger stage. Naegele has not only hit well at the plate, but played well behind it, building strong rapports with senior Jessica Sturm and freshman
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Emily Naegele Catcher
Ryan Ocasio | Northern Star File Photo
Junior catcher Emily Naegele bats during an April 8 game against Loyola. Naegele is back playing with the Huskies after an injury kept her away for about five months, said head coach Christina Sutcliffe.
Keegan Hayes. Although Naegele said Sturm and Hayes are very different to work with, she has enjoyed every bit of it and understands what she has to do to help
them become the best they can be. Aside from her relationships with her pitching staff, Naegele has also felt a vibe around the team like never before.
Tennis’ Hamel building momentum is 15-4 in the spring after starting. The MAC DeKalb | Men’s tennis’ Louis- Championships Philippe Hamel has proven to be one begin Friday and of the Huskies’ most consistent play- end Saturday in Louis-Philippe ers in his freshman season. DeKalb. Hamel Hailing from Drummondville, Men’s tennis Quebec, Hamel came to the United Q: How would States to play college tennis at NIU. you rate your season so far? “I heard about this school in A: ... I started the season really Canada, and I always wanted to slow, but I found some momentum play and compete for the Huskies,” and have been playing very well lately. Hamel said. Hamel is the youngest of the HusQ: Who will you give the credit kies at 18, and it showed early in his to for having a very good freshplay. Hamel struggled in the fall, go- man season? ing 5-5 in his first 10 games, but he A: I’m giving the credit to Frederic has managed to turn it around. [Cadieux] and Simon [Formont] for Hamel is 20-9 for the season and the reason why I’m having a good Patrick Smith Staff Writer T @NSSportsPatrick
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When runners get on base I see it as a challenge. I think to myself, ‘How can I help my team get off of the field?’ I feel like if I always thought about playing consistent it would make me gun-shy and that would not be good coming from a catcher.”
season. ... They really helped the underclassmen on how to compete at a high level, and they showed me how to put in the time and effort to becoming an ideal collegiate athlete. Also, coach [Patrick] Fisher and our assistant coach [Maksym Bartiuk] helped me on understanding and preparing for a tennis match on a collegiate level. Q: Do you feel that the team has what it takes to finally win the MAC Championships? A: Of course I believe we have what it takes. We’re a young team, but we’re ready. We learned a lot this season playing and winning tough matches. We as a team believe that we can pull it off.
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“We are having so much fun together this year,” Naegele said. “There are quite a few friendships within the team this year that we have not had in the past. The fact
that we get along so well off of the field is helping us that much more when we step on the field.” Naegele said the key to staying so consistent is not trying to focus on being consistent. “I think about doing things that will help my team succeed,” Naegele said. “When runners get on base I see it as a challenge. I think to myself, ‘How can I help my team get off of the field?’ I feel like if I always thought about playing consistent it would make me gun-shy and that would not be good coming from a catcher.” Finally healthy, Naegele can get back on the field and try to “win the MAC and become the best leader [she] can.”