Craig Moore
During his final season at Northwestern, Moore became the school’s career leader in 3-pointers, ranking fourth in Big Ten history with 320 career treys. He broke his own single-season school record with 110 3-pointers, scored a career-high 31 points against Brown and graduated with a career total of 1,294 points, 13th highest in school history. Moore led NU to a 17-14 overall record and a berth in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). This August, he signed a contract to play professionally in Holland for DeFriesland Aris Leeuwarden of the first Dutch Division. Moore saluted Welsh-Ryan Arena one last time when he kissed the N-Cat at center court following a 55-49 win over Iowa. Coach Bill Carmody and the Wildcats will miss Moore’s uncanny ability to make a shot from anywhere on the floor.
Tyrell Sutton
Sutton graduated with 3,886 yards as NU’s second all-time leading rusher and fourth in career rushing touchdowns. He ranks 18th in school history with 1,244 receiving yards and totaled 16 career 100-yard rushing games. After the 2008 season, Sutton led all active running backs nationally in career receiving yards per game. Sutton became the second player in school history to pass the 1,000 yard mark for rushing and receiving. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent this year and is currently a member of the Carolina Panthers. The 5-foot-9, 205-pound running back burst onto the scene in 2005, earning national acclaim as a freshman All-American. With Sutton, the Cats had a multi-talented back who could take it to the house on any given play.
C.J. Bacher
As a team captain and starting quarterback, Bachér finished his career ranked second for career completions and third for passing yardage, passing touchdowns and total offense in NU history. He ranked 15th nationally in completions per game and was second in the Big Ten for total offense. During the 2008 Valero Alamo Bowl, Bachér threw for a season-high 304 yards and three touchdowns. Bachér may not have had the best pure talent of conference quarterbacks, but he always managed the game well and boasted a career record of 16-12.
Hilary Bowen
Bowen finished her career ranked third all-time in program history in points and goals and fifth in assists. She was named NCAA Championship MVP in 2007 and 2008 and was an all-tournament selection in 2009. Bowen is a three-time All-American and holds the school record in single-season goals with 81. She scored at least one goal in 59 consecutive games, the fourth longest streak in NCAA history. But most importantly, Bowen was the most dynamic goal-scoring threat on coach Kelly Amonte Hiller’s squad over the last four years. Each of those years, NU won a national championship. The Hannah Nielsen to Hilary Bowen connection was money.
Georgia Rose
During the 2008-2009 season, Rose reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships in doubles and finished the year ranked No. 13 and No. 21 in doubles and singles, respectively. She was the ITA Midwest Regional Senior of the Year and was named an ITA All-American in doubles. Rose was named to the All-Big Ten team and was the second four-time qualifier for the NCAA Singles Championship in school history. Last season, she passed the 100 career wins mark at the Furman Invitational. Rose was named Illinois’ assistant tennis coach this month, showing her knowledge of and passion for the game.
Tammy Williams
Williams was named the Big Ten Player of the Year in 2009 after finishing the year ranked ninth in the nation in home runs per game, 10th in slugging percentage, 11th in batting average, 12th in runs per game and 15th in on-base percentage. She scored her 200th career run last year against Southern Utah. Williams is one of six players in NCAA history with more runs scored (235) than games played (232). She was drafted in the second round of the National Professional Fastpitch senior draft by the Chicago Bandits. Williams provided a cog in coach Kate Drohan’s order, as she hit anywhere from leadoff to cleanup. Not only that: She played a solid defensive shortstop, one of the most physically demanding positions in the game.
