Northwestern’s biggest wins of the year

What an incredible year Northwestern athletics had. Each of the Wildcats’ 19 Division I squads found some success, though some more than others. To celebrate a year that saw the athletic department in the top 50 of the Director’s Cup standings for most of it, here is every Northwestern team’s best victory. The only ground rule: if a team had a postseason victory, that victory had to be included unless there was an incredibly compelling reason to go with another. Without further ado, let’s get to it.

Baseball

The ‘Cats won one Big Ten series this season, but they made it count. On April 13 against Maryland, the Wildcats erupted for seven runs in the fifth inning and 11 total in the game. The 11-1 drubbing clinched the first series victory over Maryland since 2017. Preston Knott led the way for NU with three hits and three RBI.

Men’s Basketball

With all due respect to Ryan Langborg catching fire against FAU and Brooks Barnhizer and Ty Berry shooting tenth-ranked Illinois back to Champaign, there was only one choice for this category. For the second consecutive year, top-ranked Purdue and national player of the year Zach Edey came to Evanston. And for the second consecutive year, Boo Buie sent them home with a tally in the loss column. Buie’s 31 points and nine assists (on exactly 50-40-90 splits) were enough to overcome 41 free throw attempts from the Boilermakers and get Northwestern back on track to March Madness for back-to-back seasons.

Women’s Basketball

Northwestern closed the regular season on a high note, going into Piscataway and earning the season sweep over Rutgers. The Wildcats’ 72-61 win was fueled by a hot start in the first quarter and some impeccable three-point shooting. Caileigh Walsh and Mel Daley combined for 42 points, and Caroline Lay added 16 points and five assists. Northwestern’s defense was also spectacular, holding the Scarlet Knights to just 37% shooting from the field.

Cross Country

While the cross country squad didn’t get any outright victories last year, its podium finish at the NCAA Midwest Regionals deserves mention. On Nov. 10, 2023, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the Wildcats finished third in a tight and difficult regional. Ava Earl qualified for nationals thanks to a 6k time of 20:42.3 — just four seconds off her personal best. Kalea Bartolotto and Katherine Hessler also earned all-region slots thanks to their top-15 finishes.

Fencing

After a stellar season that finished with a 13th-place result at the NCAA Championships, there’s a lot to be proud of for Northwestern fencing. The best result, though, came back on Jan. 30 at the DeCicco Duals. Northwestern took down the host in Notre Dame, the then second-ranked squad in the nation. Five different Wildcats finished with undefeated individual records in sabre, and the 15-12 victory over the Irish was one of six for Northwestern on the weekend.

Field Hockey

While the season ended with a loss in the national championship game for the second consecutive year, Northwestern field hockey still gave 21 wins to choose from. Its last, a 2-1 victory over No. 3 Duke in the Final Four, stands out. Despite outshooting the Blue Devils 20-4 over the course of the game, the Wildcats were deadlocked with 12 minutes to play until Regan Cornelius fired home the eventual winner from the right corner.

Football

The Minnesota comeback and the Illinois shootout both merited lots of attention for this slot. However, neither of those victories came against ranked teams, and the ‘Cats already had bowl eligibility before taking back the HAT. And it is the bowl game that earns this slot: a 14-7 slugfest over Utah in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl. One year after going 3-9, the Wildcats earned a bowl victory thanks to the heroics of Ben Bryant and Bryce Kirtz.

Men’s Golf

The Wildcats still had yet to win a tournament heading into the Big Ten Championships. Better late than never. Led by Daniel Svard and three other top 10 finishers, Northwestern won its first Big Ten title since 2006. Svard won his second straight individual title, powering Northwestern to a 23-over finish that proved good enough for a 15 stroke victory. James Imai, Ethan Tseng and Cameron Adam all also finished in the top 10.

Women’s Golf

The stretch from March 4 to April 10 was marked by sheer dominance from Northwestern. The Wildcats appeared in three meets and did not finish lower than second in any of them. The most impressive showing was an outright victory at the PING/ASU Invitational to close out March, when the Wildcats nipped Cal and UCLA by three strokes. Aside from those two teams, Northwestern also beat Arizona State, Stanford, Arizona, Texas, Oregon and USC. Each one of those teams mentioned finished the year ranked in the top 20 nationally.

Lacrosse

In a year that saw the Lake Show make its fifth straight Final Four, there is no shortage of victories to choose from. But let’s settle on the victory that got Northwestern back to the national semifinals. The Wildcats took Penn behind the woodshed, utterly dismantling the Quakers in a 20-7 rout. Erin Coykendall tallied an astounding 11 points on four goals and seven assists, and she was one of four Northwestern players to score four or more goals on the day. Madison Taylor, Izzy Scane and Lindsey Frank joined her in that club, easily helping the Lake Show punch a ticket back to Cary.

Men’s Soccer

Despite a bitter early exit in the Big Ten tournament, 2023 was one of the best seasons for Northwestern soccer in recent memory. The Wildcats’ 10 wins were their most in a season since 2013, and none were more important than the Sept. 29 victory over Maryland. Northwestern waltzed into College Park and simply outgutted the Terrapins for a 2-0 victory. Jason Gajadhar assisted both Wildcat goals, and Jackson Weyman had seven saves in the shutout.

Women’s Soccer

Much like its Martin Stadium co-tenants, the women's soccer team was able to start the season hot. But after starting 7-0-2, Northwestern had hit a rut midseason. A 3-0 win over Minnesota on Oct. 19 helped right the ship with the season coming to an end, providing some positivity for 2024. Meg Boade tallied two assists, and Josie Aulicino scored a beautiful solo goal in the 88th minute. The game was the Wildcats’ first victory by multiple goals since Sept. 7.

Softball

Considering Kate Drohan’s squad won its third consecutive Big Ten crown this season, there are a lot of victories serving as excellent options, but the win that all but ensured that Big Ten three-peat must be referenced. On April 6, Ashley Miller went the distance and allowed just four hits, and five different Northwestern players earned a hit. But it was a walk that sealed things up against the Wolverines — Emma Raye drew a walk-off walk with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh. The 5-4 victory ensured a series sweep and also helped Northwestern hold off Michigan for the Big Ten title.

Men’s Swimming

The men's swim team had plenty to be thankful for in November. In the middle of the month, the squad earned its first-ever victory at the Purdue Invitational. Andrew Martin won the 1650 Free, Matthew Lucky won the 200 Breaststroke, and the 400 Free Relay team also emerged at the top of the podium. The best day, though, was from David Gerchik, who set a meet record with a scorching time of 1:41.92 in the 200 Backstroke. The Wildcats only finished seventh at the Big Ten Championships, but the midseason victory provided a strong building block for the years to come.

Women’s Swimming

Finishing seventh at the Big Ten Championships was a theme for Northwestern swimming this year. Unlike the men’s team, though, the women’s team had to settle for second place at the Purdue Invitational. That was not the case in their January meet against UChicago, which the Wildcats won 221-69. Northwestern took the 400 Medley Relay, the 1000 Free, the 200 Free, the 100 Backstroke, the 100 Breaststroke, the 200 Butterfly, the 50 Free, 1-meter diving, the 100 Free, the 200 Backstroke, the 200 Breaststroke, the 500 Free, the 100 Butterfly, 3-meter diving, 200 IM and 200 Free Relay. The team won literally every event, which included four individual or relay victories for Ayla Spitz.

Men’s Tennis

Northwestern didn’t have a spectacular season — the Wildcats went just 10-19 — but the wins stuck out. And no victory was more outstanding than Northwestern’s toppling of then No. 8 Duke on Feb. 4. The Wildcats took the doubles point early, setting the tone for a stunning upset. Presley Theieneman and Felix Nordby won their singles matches early, but Duke dug back into it, making the last match a winner-take-all. Saiprakash Goli continued his winning ways late, capturing the third set in a tiebreak to seal a major top-10 upset for Northwestern.

Women’s Tennis

Speaking of stunning upsets from Northwestern tennis, the Wildcat women had arguably the most stunning victory of the year from any team on campus. While Northwestern originally lost its April 5 match against then No. 30 Wisconsin 4-3, the Badgers’ win was not without controversy. In fact, Wisconsin played its typical No. 1 singles player in the No. 2 slot, which is not permitted in collegiate tennis and resulted in the win being overturned and given to Northwestern. The victory, fueled by doubles dominance and clutch wins from Maria Shusharina and Christina Hand, helped Northwestern seal a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Volleyball

Northwestern struggled in an incredibly tough Big Ten last season but still managed to punch above its weight. That was never more true than in the Wildcats’ Oct. 1 victory over then-No. 17 Purdue, when the ‘Cats erased a two-set deficit to win in five sets. The win was Northwestern’s second of the season over a ranked opponent and helped kickstart a 3-1 midseason stretch. Julia Sangiacomo was spectacular, setting a career-high with 33 kills and also adding four blocks. Alexa Rousseau added 46 assists and a season-high 16 digs, and Ellee Stinson added 21 digs over own.

Wrestling

The Wildcats only mustered one victory in the 2023-24 season. But it was a big one: Northwestern was able to topple No. 23 Indiana on Feb. 18. Trevor Chumbley started the fun by winning by fall just 25 seconds into his match, and Troy Fisher earned a 7-4 decision to join him. Evan Bates held off No. 33 Gabe Sollars thanks to great patience in a 2-0 victory, and Massey Odiotti and Dedrick Navarro also earned victories against the Hoosiers thanks to a thrilling finish and hot start, respectively. With 14 underclassmen on the squad, the season-ending triumph is an extremely positive sign for the future.