The 2023 Big Ten Coach of the Year, Big Ten Freshman of the Year and four First-Team All-Big Ten honorees propelled Northwestern to a spot in the NCAA Championship tournament last season — the team’s first appearance since 2019.
Ending the season at No. 15 in the nation, the Wildcats enjoyed a dominant stretch of stellar tournament showings in the spring following a slow fall tournament season.
Over the span of seven tournaments from February through May, the team placed in the top three in six of them — including two consecutive tournament wins at the PING/ASU Invitational and Silverado Showdown.
NU advanced to the NCAA Championship after placing third at the NCAA Palm Beach Regional, but eventually cooled down, finishing 22nd out of the 30 qualifying squads.
Benefiting from a combination of both young and experienced golfers, the Cats will return three First-Team All-Big Ten honorees next season.
Senior Jieni Li will look to build upon an impressive 2022-23 season having averaged the second-lowest strokes per round on the team and achieved a team-best 39th place at the NCAA Championship.
Also returning is junior Lauryn Nguyen, who tallied four top-10 tournament finishes a season after being named the 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Speaking of Big Ten Freshman of the Year, sophomore and 2023 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Dianna Lee is no stranger to success after leading the team with two top-5 finishes last season.
Despite these strong returners, the departures of Kelly Sim and Irene Kim will certainly have a noticeable impact on the team. Between the two players, they share seven All-Big Ten honors, one Big Ten Player of the Year award and each of NU’s last four individual tournament wins.
With incoming freshman Ashley Yun being the only announced signee for the 2023-24 season, the Cats will need to find a way to replace Sim and Kim’s production to maintain their top ranking.
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