The Wildcats Look to Win another Title

The Wildcats win their 5th straight NCAA Championship against the Tar Heels in 2009.

Playing the second best ranked team in the nation is no easy task, especially in front of a record breaking 1,705 fans versus.  That is, unless your team is ranked first.  This was the situation for Northwestern women’s lacrosse about two weeks ago.  Ranked #1 in the nation as they approached their rival from the NCAA National Championships last year, the North Carolina Tar Heels, the Wildcats had the closest game of the season.  However, the Wildcats found themselves on the losing end.  A close game till the end, the Wildcats suffered an 18-16 loss, making it their first loss in nearly two years.  Although a loss like this was obviously hard to accept, being five time defending national champions (including last year’s title) and now the #2 ranked team in the nation make the Wildcats a team whose spirit in not easily crushed.  They would not let this loss define them as a team.  Less than a week after their struggle against the Tar Heels, the Wildcats rallied to victory against their conference opponent Vanderbilt with a 27-9 win, a win that makes NU the regular season champions and places them as the number one seed in the upcoming American Lacrosse Conference Championships (ALCC), in which also they placed 1^st last year.

The 2010 season for the Wildcats began rather normally for the team with 18-6, 18-11, and 23-1 victories over schools University of Massachusetts, Stanford, and Duquesne respectively.  The team continued to build upon their undefeated record from last season by achieving 12 straight wins where three of those wins were against conference opponents.  On playing for such a successful team, freshman player Amanda Macaluso says, “playing for a team that has won five national championships means that we play with a huge target on our backs. This means that every game we play we need to bring our best, because we know the other team is.  The level of intensity and competitiveness that we play with everyday is amazing.”

Throughout the season thus far, NU’s star players Katrina Dowd and Danielle Spencer dominated the field and represented the Wildcats well as a team with power.  Dowd continues to rack up points as she currently is ranked 7^th on NU’s all time scoring list with 228 points while Spencer is ranked 8^th with 216 points.  Concerning what keeps Dowd set on success she says, “My teammates motivate me to become the best player I can be in order to further the success of the team.  Each practice and every game is an opportunity.  As a senior my opportunities are numbered, there is no greater motivation then to keep that in perspective.”

Then defeat struck.

Despite players like Dowd, Alexandra Frank, Shannon Smith, Brooke Matthews, Rachel Fox, and Amanda Macaluso all adding a total of 16 points to the scoreboard against North Carolina, the Tar Heels still won but by only a small and unfortunate margin. Has the loss affected the team’s morale?  After the loss Dowd stated, “The team’s overall morale hasn’t shifted.  We have a very positive coaching staff and we as players buy into the concept of being positive to ourselves and teammates.  But with the loss, it has come time to look inside ourselves.  Hard work and consistency is what this program values and as players we needed to decide if what we were contributing was our best effort.”  The NU women’s lacrosse team does not let the word “loss” disrupt their attitude and mindset and is why Dowd goes on to say, “As a team we cannot not let the loss define our season but let how we respond here on out define us.”  And certainly they did not let it define them, evidenced by their performance less than a week later.

Danielle Spencer (#2), scored 8 goal against Vanderbilt.

As the #2 Wildcats took the field on April 24th for their game against #8 Vanderbilt, the regular season conference crown was at stake as well as the first seed position in the ALCC.  Players Dowd and Spencer led the team with Spencer scoring a career best of 8 goals. This tied her for second most goals in a single game in NU lacrosse history.  In the end, the Wildcats defeated Vanderbilt with an overwhelming 27-9 victory.  Despite the players’ role in the team’s success, there is more to their victory.  Macaluso says, “a lot of the credit I would say has to go to our amazing coaching staff.  They put in endless hours watching and cutting film as well as coming up with new and innovative drills and ways to make us the best and most versatile team that we can be.”

With the victory over Vanderbilt, Northwestern stood with a strong record of 13-1 including a 4-0 record against American Lacrosse Conference opponents.  Northwestern then closed their season on a high note this past weekend with victories over both Virginia and Florida, giving NU an overall record of 15-1.

The Wildcats now look forward to the American Lacrosse Conference Championships on May 6^th in Columbus, Ohio where they look to defend their title from last year.

Article by staff writer:

Ryan Nangle

NU Swimming: A Continuing Tradition

NU Men's Swim Team

This past month Northwestern Men’s swimming team placed 34th at the NCAA National Tournament. It was their 9th placing in the last 10 years. Head Coach Jarod Schroeder, in his first season, has proved that he can keep the NU Swimming tradition alive. This wasn’t always the case for the Wildcats swim team. Former head coach Bob Groseth who is also a former NU Alum and Swimmer, brought the team up from scratch in 1988. At that time NU finished last in conference and had nothing else to show for it besides a brand new pool. Groseth changed the mindset of his swimmers and turned them into a national contender year after year.

In Groseth’s tenure at NU, he produced 5 national championships and 2 outstanding swimmers, Matt Grevors and Mike Alexandrov. Grevers and Alexandrov came out of the Wildcats swim program as contending Olympians. Grevors won the silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 100-meter backstroke while Alexandrov competed twice for Bulgaria in the 2004 and 2008 summer Olympics.

After Groseth retired last June, his assistant coach Jarod Schroeder took over the program. He had some hard shoes to fill because of the tradition that Groseth created.  Schroeder inherited a winning program and is trying to continue the NU swimming dominance within the division. After taking over the program Schroeder said, “It was a pretty smooth transition. I was a volunteer assistant here from 2000-2006, and then came back as the lead assistant in 2008. Most of the guys knew me, and my coaching style is similar to Coach Groseth’s. He was one of my mentors and encouraged me to get into coaching”.

NU women’s swimmer Erin Reilly commented on Coach Schroeder taking over the NU Men’s Swim Team saying, “I think Jarod has done an amazing job carrying on Bob’s success. Our program has been growing tremendously, as Matt Grevers and Mike Alexandrov are both currently on the U.S. National Swimming Team and came from Northwestern. Matt’s recent success at the past Olympics has also helped us out. Jarod has definitely stepped up and is incorporating new ideas into the program. The boys don’t have standout stars like Grevers and Alexandrov, but they have more depth and are continuing to produce very fast swimmers. They just finished NCAA’s and the boys placed for the 9th time in the past 10 years. So I definitely think Jarod is continuing the tradition of success.”

Even after placing 34th at this past NCAA Tournament, Schroeder still thinks that the Wildcats could have done better. Schroeder stated, “I was a little disappointed. The guys we had at the meet each had a good swim and then a couple of mediocre swims. We missed out on a couple of opportunities to make it back into finals, which cost us a few points. Overall it was a good experience for the guys we had at the meet, but I think they left the National Championships knowing they can make a bigger impact next year. This was the first time for them on this stage”.

Although there was some disappointment in the placing at the NCAA Tournament, the NU Men’s Swim team is still and will be a dominant program. They have a strong recruiting class and their best swimmers Alex Tyler and Sean Matthews are returning for next season. Schroeder said, “All of our point scorers from Big Ten’s are returning. So far next year’s freshman class is shaping up nicely. We’ve got 4 swimmers and 2 divers already committed and hope to add 2 or 3 more this spring”.

After learning from the experience Coach Schroeder and his young team received this past season, NU looks like they are in good shape to continue their successful tradition. They will not only look to place at the NCAA Tournament next season, but could be in contention to bring home another national championship to Chicago.

Article by Staff Writer:

Tyler Rayome

The Flames Remain Ignited

The Flames on defense

On any typical night in Chicago, the Willis Tower glows magnificently, but this past Tuesday a field in the foreground of the tower’s presence glowed brighter.  The UIC Flames (6-14) took on the Northwestern Wildcats (6-18) at Les Miller Field in UIC’s first game against a Big 10 opponent this season.  From the beginning of the game, Northwestern seemed to have complete control, scoring one run in the first inning and loading the bases twice.  The game soon turned around and the Flames began to light up the scoreboard finishing with a 6-1 victory over their Big 10 opponent.

Entering the 2010 season, the Flames had the 9^th toughest schedule among all Division 1 teams.  Despite junior Matt Serna’s team-high batting average this season and senior Chris Rutta who before the game on Tuesday ranked 2^nd in the Horizon League for homeruns and 3^rd in hitting percentage, the Flames were for the most part unable to capitalize on their talent.  The Flames struggled early this season by starting on a three game losing streak to Le Moyne College and Canisius College. The run margin they lost by was significantly high and over their next twelve games, they would only be victorious in two of them.

Steve McGuiggan, outfielder for the Flames, said, “We began this season trying to find our identity and had to face a lot of struggles.  That is something UIC baseball is not used to.  UIC Baseball has become a program that is expected to win.”

Although the season didn’t start how the team planned it to, there were some sparks of encouragement.  Infielder/outfielder Matt Serna was named the Horizon League Player of the Week for the period of February 14-21 while outfielder Chris Rutta received that same recognition for the week of March 7-14.  Just recently, Steve McGuiggan received the same recognition for the week of March 21-28.  In a span of only 19 games, these three players helped keep the team encouraged and motivated by winning these prestigious awards.

The Flames did not remain in their early season slump for long. Recently they have begun to burst forth with energy by winning the last four of five games which includes a victory over Notre Dame and the recent victory over Northwestern.  The Flames have been victorious in this streak by putting up impressive numbers and scoring runs when they had to.

What can be attributed to this sudden change of pace?  I asked sophomore catcher Nathan Orf and with laughter in his voice he said, “Coach had a big talk with us and we turned our game around.” Player Steve McGuiggan also gave light as to why this change in pace has occurred, “After our Notre Dame win, we seemed to start to gel together as a team.  Younger guys are gaining experience and older players are stepping up as leaders.  Tuesday’s game was another reminder of how far we’ve come.”

Steve McGuiggan at the plate

Approaching the 50^th match-up between the two teams, the Wildcats led in victories over the Flames (34-14-1) obviously placing the burden for a victory on UIC.  As the city loomed in the background with all its lights and grandeur, at least for UIC not much was shining forth from the field.  By the end of the first inning, the Wildcats already scored their first run and seemed to be in much control until the Flames scored their first run in the 3^rd inning.

The Flames glowed brighter as the night progressed with Steve McGuiggan’s homerun in the 5^th to bring home two runs and brighter still with freshman Joe Betcher’s homerun in the 6^th, bringing home two runs.  In the 8^th inning the Flames scored their last run.  The end result is a 6-1 victory for UIC.

The reason for this victory and motivation for future games can be explained by how player Nathan Orf puts it, “If we have energy we’re going to win a lot of games.”  As the team broke from their after game huddle, the players looked excited about the victory. I overheard Head Coach Mike Dee talking with someone as the players packed up their things and the look on his face added to the fact that these recent wins are a sweet thing.

The UIC Flames (6-14, 2-1 Horizon League) face their Horizon League opponent, Youngstown State, this weekend in Ohio for a three game set.  The Flames have their next home game on April 9^th at 7:05pm CST against Horizon League foe Butler.  The Northwestern Wildcats have their next home game against Big 10 opponent Ohio State on April 2^nd at 3:00pm.

Article by staff writer:

Ryan Nangle

The Big Four’s Mascot Showdown: Who Will Be Standing Tall Next to the Skyscrapers of Chicago?

The Chicago Big Four have a rich tradition in how their sports names and mascots came about. However, does anyone know why there is a wolf howling for the Ramblers? Or why a dragon is fanning the Flames? Are The Blue Demons supposed to be scary? What about the Wildcats? How do all of these mascots represent their respective schools and student athletes? Whose mascot is worthy of being called Chicago’s best? This week Second City College Sports will take a look at how each of the four team’s names and mascots came to be. Second City will then crown Chicago’s best mascot after carefully analyzing each school’s history and relation to the City of Chicago.

The voting will be based on uniqueness, origins, and how representative they are to the great city of Chicago. The rating system is out of four Willis Towers.

Northwestern

Willie Dancing at a Game

Northwestern athletes went by the name “The Purple”, unofficially as the “Fighting Methodists”, until the name Wildcats came about in 1924. A Chicago Tribune reporter coined the name in an article about the men’s football team and how they came down from Evanston and looked more like wildcats than football players. Northwestern’s first mascot was a live bear cub from the Lincoln Park Zoo, named Furpaw. This little cub would be paraded around the field on game days to get the audience roaring. However, after a loosing season the team thought that Furpaw brought them bad luck and banished him from their campus. In 1947, Willie the Wildcat became the schools mascot and has been sinking his claws on the opponents ever since.

The Wildcat name is bland and universal. It’s like Springfield in a sense that every state has a city named Springfield. Sure the image of a Wildcat is terrifying but, when put together with the city of Chicago; it takes on more of an Alley Cat image. That’s not something that will strike fear in any opposing team. Although the name might have been creative in the 1920’s the Wildcats is a little too generic. However, Willie the Wildcat is good alliteration and he is worthy of some praise.

Rating:    Two and a half Willis Towers.

Loyola

Lu Pointing to the Camera

Prior to 1926, Loyola’s teams simply went by their school colors maroon and gold. That same year, Loyola’s football team travelled all across the country playing fearlessly against their opponents. This caught the medias attention and dubbed Loyola the Ramblers. Loyola’s mascot, Lu Wolf, was introduced to represent the school because the schools seal has two wolves eating over a caldron. The wolf also represents the schools Jesuit Catholic views.

A wolf in the seal and the storied history of the Rambler name gives Loyola a paw up in the contest. But when the word Rambler is mixed in with representing Chicago, a wolf is not what comes to mind. A hobo or a drifter comes to mind. Lu Wolf is a fine mascot for a team called the Wolves. However, Lu is representing a tradition that evokes images of traveling great distances and hard work. Chicago doesn’t have many wolves wandering about its streets.

Rating:   Two and a half Willis Towers.

DePaul

DIBS Pointing to the Crowd

DePaul’s team name started out as the D-Men in 1900 when their athletes wore the letter D on their jerseys. Naturally this evolved into the Demons. The introduction of the Blue came by way of a student body vote a year later. Billy was the name of the original mascot, but when the school updated its logo Billy was updated as well. The mascot currently goes by DIBS which stands for Demon In a Blue Suit.

The Blue Demons as a team name is terrifying. They haunt the opposing team’s nightmares. But when coupled with Chicago, a blue demon takes on a different meaning, the Blue and White of the Chicago Police Department, terrifying in and of itself. Also, DIBS are better known as an ice cream snack. Because of this relation, DePaul should be getting a cease and desist letter in the mail some time soon. The Blue Demon is a unique mascot, but shares the name with a delicious treat. This is not something athletes want to be thinking about come game time.

Rating:Three Willis Towers.

UIC

Sparky Throwing Up His Arms

UIC has a long history of different mascots. The original mascot for UIC was chief Chi-Illini, a spin-off of the Urbana’s Illini, when the school was located in Navy Pier. When the university was moved to its current location in 1965, on the near west side of Chicago, the school took on the name Chikas based on the Chickasaw tribe. However, chica is Spanish for girls and based on relentless taunting and politically incorrectness of naming a sports team after Native American tribe, the school was simply known as Circle. After having lost an athletic and school embodied image of spirit, the school took a student vote in 1982 to give the school a proper name. Choices included the Flames, the Skyscrapers, and the Clout. The Flames won out and has it has stuck ever since. That same year the school began to experiment with different mascots. The first was supposed to look like a flame. However the suit looked more like a tomato, so he was dubbed “Tommie the Tomato Head”. In 1986, the tomato was dropped in favor of a menacing looking dragon. Then in 1993, the name Sparky D. Dragon was given to the treacherous dragon.

UIC was worried about political correctness with the Chikas and its negative connotations. The word flame has even more negative connotations that can lead to incessant taunting. Sparky D. Dragon, a raging red dragon is a great mascot. What do dragons have? Fire! It all makes perfect sense. However put these two words together and what’s the first thing that comes to mind, Sparky the Flame. The history of the great Chicago Fire evokes pride for Chicagoans, how a city was rebuilt in the ashes of the old. However, don’t dragons start fires?

Rating: Three and a half Willis Towers.

Second City College Sports winning mascot: Sparky D. Dragon.

Sparky D. Dragon is a very unique mascot who represents more than the UIC athletes. He represents a city that was burned to the ground and then built into one of the worlds greatest cities. Sparky is a world class mascot. While the other three mascots are special in their own right, Sparky D. Dragon stands out as Chicago’s best mascot. He ignites the Flames burning passion for excellence, entertains crowds, and gets fans on their feet. Sparky is as representative for Chicago as deep-dish pizza is for Chicago.

Disagree? Vote in this weeks poll and voice your opinion on who you think is Chicago’s best mascot in the comments section.

-Article by Staff Writer: Theo Rodwan-Gordon

A Wildcat Chat: Brandon Precin

Brandon Precin Winning a Match

Senior Brandon Precin is normally found on the mats helping lead his team to victory in both duals and tournaments. However, this year he is redshirting, allowing for him to compete a 5th year. Even so, as a two-time Illinois State Champion in high school and a two-time All-American, wining third place in the NCAA tournament last year, Brandon Precin is a major contributor for the Northwestern Wrestling team.

Ryan: So Brandon, who or what inspired you to start wrestling?

Brandon Precin: It was a combination of things.  A few of my relatives wrestled, so my parents asked if I wanted to try it out. After watching pro wrestling on TV, I wanted to wrestle. However, upon going into the practice room, I was in for a surprise—it was quite different from what I saw on TV.

R: Four years ago, when you were choosing a college or university to attend, why did you pick Northwestern over Illinois, Central Michigan and Columbia?

BP: Northwestern offered me an opportunity to study at a great academic institution and compete at the Division 1 level. Northwestern is also close to my hometown of Orland Park, so I could still spend time with my family. My coaches, Tim Cysewski and Drew Pariano, who recruited me, have provided me with great support and I have learned so much from them.

R: It must be a great experience to be coached by Cysewski (the coach with the most wins under his belt in NU history). What changes do you expect to come with Cysewski stepping down from the head coaching position, becoming the Associate Head Coach?

BP: I do not think that much will change in the respect that Tim will still be a dedicated coach. Wrestling is Tim’s passion, and he truly cares for his wrestlers.  He is in the room everyday with us and he will still kick our butts in practice.

R: In high school you were a two-time Illinois state champion and became a two time All-American while in college. What motivates you for success?

BP: My desire to become the best is what motivates me. I enjoy the challenge and the great feeling I get after going through a hard workout.

R: In the past two years you’ve posted a Big 10 Championship Record of 5-3 and 7-1 respectively. Looking ahead to next week’s Big 10 Championship, what do you hope to accomplish?

BP: While I will not be competing in the Big 10 Championships next week due to red-shirting, I hope to help guide my teammates to success in the championship.  This week will be especially important in regards to their training. I hope to give them my best effort in their preparation. I have a few goals that I want to accomplish for next year, and winning the Big Ten Championship is one of them.  Last year I was a runner-up, so for next year I hope to improve on that finish.

R: What has your experience been like as a redshirt wrestler?

BP: As a redshirt, this year is an opportunity for growth. I want to improve on my technique as much as I can and become stronger. Also, I look forward to next year.  I am excited to compete for Northwestern again. In addition, we have a highly ranked freshman class coming in along with a few guys returning in the lineup.

R: Looking further down the road, what excites you most about the NCAA Championships this year?

BP:I am looking forward to seeing my teammates compete at the NCAA Championships. I will definitely be rooting for them. As for next year, I am looking forward to competing again at the NCAA Championships. My goal is to become a NCAA Champion.

R: What are your plans after graduation?

BP: After graduation next year, I hope to continue wrestling through freestyle and coaching. Wrestling is very important to me and it has given me many opportunities in life that I would not have had otherwise, such as going to Northwestern.

R: Overall, how do you feel about your team’s performance this year?

BP: This year has been tough due to injuries and guys out of the line up. However, the team won last week against Michigan in an exciting dual. My teammates did a great job; they battled their hearts out and wrestled with passion. It was especially important for us because it was Tim’s last dual meet as head coach.

R: Finally, Cubs or White Sox?
BP: White Sox.

Article by staff writer:

Ryan Nangle

Northwestern Wildcats’ Wild Ride into the Big Ten Tournament

The past century has been tough for the Northwestern men’s basketball program. Throughout their storied history they have yet to make it to the NCAA tournament. However, coming into the 2009-2010 season, the team has high hopes. Last season they made it to the National Invitation Tournament, but lost their first-round game to Tulsa.  Entering the season, the Wildcats looked to build off of their success, as returning standout Kevin Coble

Senior Kevin Coble

was prepared to improve on a strong 2008-2009 campaign. After the last season, Coble was in the top 10 of the Big Ten in points with 15.7 per game and 1.7 steals per game.

This season started out promising as they beat Robert Morris 78-49 in their first exhibition game. Coble had a solid game contributing 15 points and 6 rebounds, while sophomore stand out John Shurna also had a nice debut by scoring 21 points. A few days later the team got some terrible news. Coble would miss the entire season with a foot injury. Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody talked earlier this season in an interview with ESPN about the injury stating that, “Basically the bones are out of alignment [in his foot] and he needs to get this done for stability,” Carmody said, “He has no choice.” (http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/ncb/news/story?id=4658281)

With their leading scorer sidelined for the season as well as fellow senior Jeff Ryan out with an ACL knee injury, the team would need to rely on its younger players to step up. However there is hope, as expressed by Northwestern fan Nic Aubert earlier this year, “I’m pumped about the new addition of freshman

Freshman Drew Crawford

Drew Crawford to the team this year. He’s really stepped up with Coble being out for the season.”

After suffering a loss to the number 10 ranked team in the nation Butler back on November 18^th, Northwestern went on a 9 game winning streak giving their young core of players inspiration. Motivation was needed because this is a team who didn’t have one player averaging double figures entering the season.

The young team began conference play on December 30^th which has been particularly tough for Northwestern this past decade. After losing their first two games to Illinois and No. 11 Michigan State, it has been a steady decline since. The team has managed to put together two 2-game winning streaks in conference play. However, things are looking better as a huge boost came when they defeated No. 6 ranked Purdue at home back on January 16^th.

A reason for the Wildcats struggle in Big Ten play has been because the conference has had at least 3 teams nationally ranked all season. Shurna

Sophomore John Shurna

has stepped up big time leading the team in scoring this season by averaging 18.1 ppg (compared to his 7.3 ppg last year). He has helped Northwestern put together an impressive non-conference resumé by going 11-1 with one game left to play against Chicago State on March 3^rd.

It has been an up and down season for the Wildcats this year. Entering the final week of regular season play, Northwestern’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament are not looking good. With a conference record of 7-10 their only way for them to make it is to win the Big Ten Tournament which begins March 11^th in Indianapolis. As of now, they are slated to play Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. They are 1-1 against the Hawkeyes this season. Nic Aubert gave his take on the team’s chances, “I’m definitely rooting for Northwestern in the Big Ten Tourney but it’s not looking good with having 4 other Big Ten schools ranked in the top 25 in the nation.” We will wait to see if this Wildcat team can scratch their way to victory.

As they head into the month of March, the Wildcats will look to put an end to their long drought. Coach Carmody has kept his team’s spirit alive with the loss of star player Kevin Coble. Every team’s goal at the end of the season is to make the NCAA tournament which consists of the best sixty-four teams in the nation. Northwestern will continue its pursuit of this lofty goal as they prepare for the Big Ten Tournament.

Northwestern Players on the Bench During a Game

Article by staff writer:

Dan Cline