BaseballThe Wildcats finished in last place in the Big Ten and failed to reach the conference tournament in 2006, despite having some good hitters. Senior Antonio Mule was selected to the Mideast All Region Team last season.The Cats hit well as a team, averaging 5.8 runs per game, but struggled on the mound. The pitching staff had a 6.70 ERA and opponents hit .327 against them.
Men’s BasketballAfter a promising 10-3 start, including wins over DePaul and Miami (Fla.), last season’s team hit a wall against Big Ten teams. The Cats won two conference games, but nearly upset Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament.Freshman forward Kevin Coble led NU in scoring and rebounding. He returns along with three point specialist Craig Moore and Jeff Ryan, who played well towards the end of the season.Still, the Cats don’t have a player taller than 6 foot 8 inches on their roster and could struggle against the taller teams in the Big Ten.
Women’s BasketballLast season’s women’s basketball team also had a disappointing run. NU started 6-1, its best start in 10 years. But then the team suffered a school record: a 17-game losing streak. The Cats finally broke the streak with a win over Penn State.But the Cats added top recruit Amy Jaeschke, who is playing with the USA U19 team at the World Championships this summer, to a veteran group which includes senior Sara Stutz and junior Kristin Cartwright. NU hopes adding in its strong recruiting class with its veteran players will add to more wins.
Women’s Cross CountryThe cross country team won three meets last season, but finished last at the Big Ten meet and 17 out of 24 teams at the NCAA Regional meet.Last year’s team was full of sophomores and freshman, thus carrying over most of the team to this year, under new head coach April Likhite.
Women’s FencingThe 2006 fencing team finished seventh at the NCAA Championships. The Cats return their top finisher from last year’s championships and dominated many of their regular season competitions.The team is traditionally one of NU’s strongest finishers and should have another strong season this year.
Field HockeyThe Cats faced a difficult schedule last season against some of the nation’s best teams. NU struggled and was bounced from the first round of the Big Ten tournament.The team will again face a difficult schedule, but returns its top goal scorer in junior Jill Putnam and all-Big Ten second team player Amanda Care.
FootballThe football team faced a difficult task last season. Not only did they have to find a new quarterback, but they also faced the death of Head Coach Randy Walker. Very few teams could have survived this and still play football at a high level.The Cats won their first game, but the 2006 team struggled the rest of the season trying to replace former quarterback Brett Basanez and their coach.But new coach Pat Fitzgerald rallied the team together to get wins over Iowa and Illinois, ending the season with four wins.This year’s team has more stability, with quarterback C.J. Bach
