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Monday, May 4, 2015
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Sports
Sports’ end of year rankings
Top 5 stories: No. 1
Football conquers the MAC — again Huskies win MAC Championship for 3rd time in 4 years
Top 5 stories
No. 5: Gymnastics sets school scoring record No. 4: Track and field has historic finish at MAC Championships No. 3: Facilities Master Plan unveiled No. 2: Football loses Homecoming game, win streaks No. 1: Football wins third MAC Championship in last four years
Frank Gogola Sports Editor T @FrankGogola
DeKalb | Football has cemented itself as a dynasty in the MAC as it won its third MAC Championship in the past four seasons. The Huskies won those three MAC Championships under three starting quarterbacks: Chandler Harnish (2011), Jordan Lynch (2012) and Drew Hare (2014). Additionally, they’ve won five-straight MAC West titles under three head coaches: Jerry Kill (2010), Dave Doeren (2011 and 2012) and Rod Carey (2013 and 2014). The Huskies got their revenge on the Bowling Green Falcons in the 2014 Marathon MAC Championship game with a 51-17 rout. They had lost to the Falcons, 47-27, in the 2013 Marathon MAC Championship game — a loss that cost the Huskies a second-straight BCS bowl game appearance. “All of the credit goes to [the players] on this,” said head coach Rod Carey, according to a Dec. 8 Northern Star article. “They said what they
Nick Smith | Northern Star File Photo
Redshirt sophomore Drew Hare plays in the 2014 Marathon MAC Championship game against the Bowling Green Falcons on Dec. 5 in Detroit. Hare is the third NIU quarterback to win the MAC Championship in the past four seasons.
wanted; they said it back in January [2014], and they just got it [Dec. 5]. It’s because of all the hard work that they did, and I know that’s a cliché. But, you know what? You don’t get here without hard work, and that’s how they did it, and they bought into that.”
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Drew Hare threw for 218 yards and two touchdowns in the 51-17 win. Redshirt senior tailback Cameron Stingily led all players with 116 rushing yards and two touchdowns while Hare added 60
Top 10 athletes: No. 1
Tennis’ Youel serves up sensational senior season Frank Gogola Sports Editor T @FrankGogola
DeKalb | Women’s tennis senior Nelle Youel ends her NIU career as the most accomplished player in program history and the No. 1 athlete on Sports’ top 10 list. Youel, selected to the All-MAC First Team, became the first player in program history to be selected as the MAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Year. She went 31-3 overall during the spring season, including a perfect 20-0 mark at No. 1 singles and an 11-3 record in No. 1 doubles matches. She said winning the 20th match in a row, a three-setter, was one of her top three toughest matches of the season. “It sort of was the perfect ending to all the work I’ve put in over the last four years and just showed how much it paid off for me,” Youel said, according to an April 20 Northern Star article. “… Winning that last point was surreal in a way because it was the end of my career and I knew going undefeated was sort of in the picture.” Youel broke her own school record for singles victories combined between the fall and spring season with 28 wins. She had
rushing yards and one touchdown. NIU’s 51 points scored and 34-point margin of victory are the largest in MAC Championship game history. The defense held Bowling Green to 287 total yards, picked off three passes and forced
a trio of turnovers on downs. “That’s a doggone good football team,” said Dino Babers, Bowling Green head coach, according to the Northern Star. “And you got to take your hats off because they did it in every way you could do it: on the ground, in the air and played outstanding defense and kicking game as well. … They left no doubt in everyone’s mind of who the best football team in the conference is this year.” Making it to the MAC Championship game was a minor miracle in itself as the Huskies had to win their final six regular season games after losing to the Central Michigan Chippewas at Homecoming and dropping to 1-1 in conference play.
Top 5 newcomers: No. 1 Top 10 athletes: No. 2
Hildreth runs greatest cross country season Frank Gogola Sports Editor T @FrankGogola
Top 5 newcomers
No. 5: Anthony Johnson No. 4: Lauren Gierman man cross country/track and field No. 3: Kelly Smith runner, crosses the tape as Sports’ No. 2: Amy Annala No. 2 athlete and No. 1 newcomer. She put together the greatest sea- No. 1: Kelsey Hildreth DeKalb | Kelsey Hildreth, fresh-
Suresh Vikati | Northern Star File Photo
Women’s tennis senior Nelle Youel serves in the match against the Western Michigan Broncos on April 12 in DeKalb. Youel owns the program’s all time career records for singles wins, doubles wins and combined wins.
previously set the record with 27 singles wins in 2012-13. Additionally, Youel set the program records for career combined wins (163), career singles victories (89) and career doubles wins (74) throughout the spring season. “If I played my game and played well then I should be able to win,” Youel said, according to the Northern Star. “… I believed in myself and believed that I could be successful from the beginning.”
Top 10 athletes No. 10: Isaac Kannah No. 9: Da’Ron Brown No. 8: Amanda Stepp No. 7: Drew Hare No. 6: Shawn Scott No. 5: Mackenzie Roddy No. 4: Kayti Grable No. 3: Amanda Corral No. 2: Kelsey Hildreth No. 1: Nelle Youel
son in cross country program history and has carried that success over into the track and field season. Hildreth got her first taste of college competition as a cross country runner in the fall, when she broke the 5K and 6K school records. She became the highest ever finisher in school history at the MAC Championships, where she took fifth and earned All-MAC honors. Hildreth also became the school’s highKelsey Hildreth est ever finisher Freshman at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, where she took 11th place and earned All-Region honors. She missed qualifying for nationals by one spot. “She’s very calm and collected,” said volunteer assistant coach Ashley Lucas, according to a Jan. 15 Northern Star article. “A lot of freshman, I feel, can get overwhelmed by coming
from high school and being a big dog to coming to college and there’s a lot of good people. She doesn’t ever seem fearful of her competition. It’s just like any other race, even if it’s a big race it’s just like any other day.” Even as the competition increased during the track and field season, Hildreth kept knocking down records. She owns the school records in the indoor 3K and 5K runs and the outdoor 5K and 10K runs. She took third place in the 5K run and sixth place in the 3K run at the MAC Indoor Championships. “We knew coming in that she was obviously really good,” said junior distance runner Hannah Savage, according to the Northern Star. “We knew her times. But, I never expected her to come in and start, first attempts, just breaking these records. It’s really exciting, and I love having her on the team. She just sets the standard higher than it has been probably ever before. I love that.”