Northwestern Media Services 1501 Central St. Evanston, Ill. 60208 (847) 491-7503 Office Fax: (847) 491-8818 Wildcat Sportsline: (847) 467-NCAT Wildcat Web Site: NUsports.com Mike Wolf, Director Adam Widman, Associate Director Aaron Bongle, Asst. Director Julie Dunn, Asst. Director Doug Meffley, Asst. Director Kevin Morales, Intern Winter Sports Release #6 Jan. 3, 2006 ATHLETES OF THE WEEK JAKE HERBERT WRESTLING Sophomore Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) earns his second-straight Hilton Garden Inn Athlete of the Week accolade after winning his second-consecutive 174-pound Midlands title last week. Herbert, the nation s second-ranked grappler at 174 lbs., went 5-0 in the tournament and beat Iowa s third-ranked Mark Perry one of the most highly anticipated matches of the year in the title bout. Herbert becomes the first Northwestern wrestler to win consecutive Midlands titles, while improving his record to 16-0 this season. For his performance, Herbert was named the Midlands Champion of Champions, voted on by other tournament-title winners. IFEOMA OKONKWO WOMEN S BASKETBALL Ifeoma Okonkwo (Spring, Texas/Klein Oak) averaged a teamleading 11.3 ppg over the past three contests to earn Hilton Garden Inn Athlete of the Week accolades. Against No. 14 DePaul, No. 15 Minnesota and Wisconsin, the senior shot a combined.500 percent from the field (14-of-28) and pulled down 6.7 rpg. Okonkwo is NU s leading scorer in the conference, coming in at 13th on the list with an average of 13.9 ppg. She is fifth in the conference in rebounding, averaging 7.9 caroms per contest. MEN S BASKETBALL (7-4, 0-0) Head Coach: Bill Carmody (Sixth season) Record at NU: 73-84 (Five seasons) Career Record: 165-109 (Nine seasons) Last Week s Results: NU 69, DePauw 36 NU 82, Northern Colorado 47 This Week s Action: Wed., Jan. 4 Purdue Evanston, Ill. 6 p.m. Sat., Jan. 7 Minnesota Minneapolis, Minn. 1 p.m. The Wildcats went 2-0 over the holiday break, defeating DePauw 69-36 before ringing in the New Year with an 82-47 win over Northern Colorado Jan. 1. Mohamed Hachad (Montreal, Quebec/Champlain- St. Lambert) led three Wildcats in double figures with 17 points as Northwestern easily defeated DePauw. Freshman guard Craig Moore (Doylestown, Pa./Lawrenceville Prep) scored a career-high 12 points, hitting 4-of-7 treys, and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for the Wildcats. Northwestern used its defensive pressure and speed to put the Tigers away with a 19-0 run in the second half. DePauw was in the game early, going on a 10-3 run to tie the game at 12-12 with 12:10 left in the half before the Wildcats responded with a 20-5 run, capped off by triples from Bernard Coté (St. Lambert, Quebec/Champlain-St. Lambert) and Moore to give NU the 34-22 halftime lead. In Sunday s win over Northern Colorado, Vedran Vukusic (Split, Croatia/Medical) scored 22 points to lead four Northwestern players in double figures. Coté added 14 points and Vince Scott (Phoenix, Ariz./Greenway) had 12. Northwestern built a 47-21 halftime lead while shooting 72 percent from the field. Coté, Vukusic, Moore and Scott each hit from downtown to help the Cats pull away early. The Wildcats scored 33 points off 25 turnovers. Sterling Williams (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) scored a career high 11 for Northwestern, picking up the slack for the sidelined Hachad. WOMEN S BASKETBALL (4-8, 0-2) Head Coach: Beth Combs (Second season) Record at NU: 9-33 (Second season) Career Record: 53-78 (Four seasons) The Wildcats faced two ranked opponents over the holidays, going 0-3 during that span. Three Wildcats tallied double-figures but No. 14/14 DePaul s offense was too potent, as Northwestern fell to the Blue Last Week s Results: DePaul 78, NU 58 Minnesota 69, NU 54 Wisconsin 74, NU 45 This Week s Action: Thu., Jan. 5 Ohio State Evanston, Ill. 7 p.m. Sat., Jan. 8 Illinois Champaign, Ill. 2 p.m. Demons, 78-58, Thursday night. Senior Ifeoma Okonkwo (Spring, Texas/Klein Oak) led NU with 15 points and eight rebounds. Junior A.J. Glasauer (Freiburg, Germany/Theodor Heuss-Gymnasium) had 12 points and four assists. DePaul jumped out to a 24-9 lead, and held steady throughout the first half to enter the break with a 39-26 advantage. In the conference opener, the Gophers used a balance of solid post play and free throws to defeat the Wildcats, 69-54. Glasauer led NU with 16 points and five assists, with 10 of her points coming in the first half. Nadia Bibbs (Chicago, Ill./Hillcrest) tallied 11 points and added four dishes. Okonkwo recorded her third-consecutive double-figure performance chipping in 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Northwestern lost its first conference road test Sunday, dropping a 74-45 decision to Wisconsin. Freshman Julie Bielawski (Rogers, Ark,/Rogers) was the leading scorer for the Cats, recording 11 points.
FOOTBALL (7-4, 5-3) Head Coach: Randy Walker Record at NU: (37-45) (seventh year) Career Record: (96-80-5) (16th year) Last Week s Results: This Week s Action: UCLA 50, NU 38 (Vitalis Sun Bowl) End of Season Backed by two defensive touchdowns, Northwestern sprinted to a 22-0 first-quarter lead vs. 17th-ranked UCLA in the 72nd annual Vitalis Sun Bowl Friday in El Paso, Texas. But the Bruins, who have recorded a number of comebacks this season, recovered from the deficit to beat the Wildcats, 50-38, in front of a sellout crowd at Sun Bowl Stadium. Defensive end Kevin Mims (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) intercepted UCLA quarterback Drew Olson s screen attempt and ran 30 yards to the end zone for the first score. Then Bryan Heinz (Lone Tree, Colo./Highlands Ranch) playing in his first game of the year after suffering an injury during the preseason caught an overthrown pass, tipped by tight end Mercedes Lewis, setting up a 9-yard TD run on a reverse by senior Mark Philmore (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg). Nick Roach (Milwaukee, Wis./Milwaukee Lutheran) put Northwestern ahead 22-0 by returning another interception 34 yards for a score. The 22 points in the first quarter were a Sun Bowl record. UCLA came back with 36 unanswered points before an Amado Villarreal (Englewood, Colo./Englewood) field goal the first of his career made the score 36-25. An 8-yard pass from senior Brett Basanez (Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator) to Philmore cut the deficit to five, 36-31. The Bruins returned the ensuing onside kick for a touchdown, but Basanez connected with Shaun Herbert (Oxen Hill, Md./Bishop McNamara) for a 5-yard touchdown to again pull the Cats to within a single score, 43-38, before UCLA again returned the onside kick back for a score to close the game. The Wildcats set Sun Bowl records for total yards (584) and first downs (33). Basanez finished with a Sun Bowl-record 448 yards of total offense. Wide receiver Ross Lane (St. Myers, Fla./Bishop Verot) caught a career-best seven passes for a career-high 136 yards. Mims earned the Sun Bowl s Jimmy Rogers Jr. Lineman of the Game honor. The Wildcats closed the season with a 7-5 record, their most wins since 2000. NO. 14 WRESTLING (3-0, 0-0) Head Coach: Tim Cysewski (16th season) Record at NU: 112-147 (15 seasons) Career Record: same Last Week s Results: 43rd Midlands 10th/66 This Week s Action: Sun., Jan. 8 at Eastern Illinois Charleston, Ill. 1:30 p.m. Northwestern s wrestling team closed out 2005 with a 10th-place finish at the 43rd annual Midlands Wrestling Championships this weekend. The tournament, which included more than 350 wrestlers from 66 teams, is one of the largest and most prestigious collegiate wrestling events of the year. All-American sophomore Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) went 5-0 in the tournament, claiming his second-straight Midlands title at 174 lbs. becoming the first Northwestern wrestler to win consecutive Midlands championships. Herbert recorded two falls and three decisions during the tournament, earning the Champion of Champions Trophy in the process. In one of the most highly anticipated matches of the season, the second-ranked Herbert faced Iowa s thrid-ranked Mark Perry, who won the 165-pound Midlands title in 2004. The two were supposed to meet at the NWCA/Marines All-Star Classic in November, but Perry pulled out of the competition. In the match, Herbert dominated from beginning to end. Perry hit two late takedowns, but the match was never in doubt, and Herbert pulled out a 5-4 win. At 197 lbs., senior Matt Delguyd (Mayfield Heights, Ohio/Mayfield) placed a career-best fourth in the tournament. Delguyd went 3-0 on the first day of competition, moving into a semifinal showdown with Illinois Tyrone Byrd. In that match, Byrd pulled out the win, sending Delguyd to the consolation bracket. In his first consolation match, Delguyd recorded an 8-4 victory over Northern Iowa s Andrew Anderson. In the third-place match, however, Delguyd fell to Indiana s Brady Richardson, 3-2, to claim fourth place. Sophomore Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) placed for the first time at Midlands, going 5-2 and finishing at seventh place. WOMEN S SWIMMING & DIVING Head Coach: Jimmy Tierney (12th season) Last Week s Results: None This Week s Action: Sat., Jan. 7 at Tennessee Knoxville, Tenn. 10 a.m., 6 p.m. Northwestern s women s swimming & diving team returns to action at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 7 at Tennessee.
NO. 17 MEN S SWIMMING & DIVING Head Coach: Bob Groseth (17th season) Last Week s Results: None This Week s Action: None Northwestern s swimming & diving team returns to action Fri.-Sat., Jan. 13-14 at the Dallas Morning News Meet, in Dallas, Texas. FENCING (12-1) Head Coach: Laurie Schiller (28th season) Record at NU: 860-393 (28 seasons) Career Record: same The Cats return to action Saturday, January 7 at the Illinois JO Qualifier. Last Week s Results: This Week s Action: None Sat., Jan. 7 Illinois JO Qualifier Evanston, Ill. All Day MEN S TENNIS (0-0, 0-0) Head Coach: Paul Torricelli (23rd season) Record at NU: 321-232 (22 seasons) Career Record: same Northwestern s men s tennis team kicks off spring action by hosting area-foe Illinois-Chicago at 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8 at the Combe Tennis Center. Last Week s Results: This Week s Action: None Sun., Jan. 8 Illinois-Chicago Evanston, Ill. 1 p.m.
LAST WEEK IN WILDCAT ACTION... Dec. 22 Thu. Women s Basketball DePaul L, 78-58 Dec. 23 Fri. Men s Basketball DePauw W, 69-36 Dec. 29-30 Thu.-Fri. Wrestling Midlands Wrestling Championships 10th/66 Dec. 29 Thu. Women s Basketball Minnesota L, 69-54 Dec. 30 Fri. Football UCLA (Vitalis Sun Bowl) L, 50-38 Jan. 1 Sun. Men s Basketball Northern Colorado W, 82-47 Women s Basketball Wisconsin L, 74-45 THIS WEEK IN WILDCAT ACTION... Jan. 4 Wed. Men s Basketball Purdue 6 p.m. Jan. 5 Thu. Women s Basketball Ohio State 7 p.m. Jan. 7 Sat. Fencing Illinois JO Qualifier (Evanston, Ill.) All Day Women s Swimming Tennessee 10 a.m., 6 p.m. Jan. 8 Sun. Men s Tennis Illinois-Chicago 1 p.m. Wrestlling Eastern Illinois 1:30 p.m. * Big Ten Conference game/match All times Central and subject to change. Home events in bold. For ticket information, call the Northwestern Ticket Office at (847) 491-CATS. Results of all Northwestern events are available via the Wildcat Sportsline at (847) 467-NCAT and on the official Wildcat home page at NUsports.com.
2005 WILDCAT FALL/WINTER SPORTS SCOREBOARD Football Men s Swimming & Diving Women s Basketball Women s Swimming & Diving Fencing WOMEN S SWIMMING SCHEDULE Oct. 21 at UW-Milwaukee W, 158-81 23 NU RELAYS lst/5 23 at UIC Diving Invite 2nd/6 Nov. 4 at Purdue * L, 208-93 vs. Michigan State * W, 197-103 10 at Wisconsin * L, 148-75 18-20 at Purdue Invite 5th/7 Dec. 2 INDIANA * L, 159-141 17 at Holiday Dual (Coral Galbes, Fla.) Miami W, 108-54 N.C. State W, 108-66 Jan. 7 at Tennessee 10 a.m., 6 p.m. 21 at Michigan * 1 p.m. 27 IOWA * 5 p.m. Feb. 15-18 Big Ten Championships All Day (Columbus, Ohio) Mar. 10-12 at NCAA Diving Zone All Day (Columbus, Ohio) 16-18 at NCAA Championships All Day (Athens, Ga.) * Big Ten meet Home Games in BOLD CAP FENCING SCHEDULE s Oct. 8 USFA BurtonGator Classic NTS (Evanston, Ill.) 22-23 USFA Remenyik NTS (Evanston, Ill.) 28 Alumni Meet NTS Nov. 11-14 Junior/Cadet North America Cup (Albuquerque, N.M.) NTS 19-20 NU Duals 12-1 Dec. 9-12 USFA North America Cup NTS (Pittsburgh, Pa.) Jan. 7 Illinois JO Qualifier TBA (Evanston, Ill.) 13-16 USFA North America Cup TBA (Houston, Texas) 21 Penn Duals 9 a.m. 22 NYU Duals 9 a.m. 28 Notre Dame Duals All Day Feb. 11-12 NU Duals All Day 17-20 USFA National Jr. Olympics TBA (Hartford, Conn.) 25-26 Midwest Fencing Conference Championships (South Bend, Ind.) All Day March 4 NCAA Midwest Regional All Day (Cleveland, Ohio) 16-19 NCAA Championships All Day (Houston, Texas) Home meets in BOLD CAPS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Sept. 3 OHIO (ESPNU) W, 38-14 10 N. ILLINOIS (ESPNC) W, 38-37 17 at Arizona State L, 52-21 24 PENN STATE * L, 34-29 Oct. 8 WISCONSIN * (TBA) W, 51-48 15 at Purdue * (ESPN2) W, 35-29 22 at Michigan St. * (ESPN2) W, 49-14 29 MICHIGAN * (ESPN) L, 33-17 Nov. 5 IOWA * (ESPN) W, 28-27 12 at Ohio State * (ABC) L, 48-7 19 at Illinois * (ESPN Plus) W, 38-21 Dec. 30 vs. UCLA (CBS) L, 50-38 * Big Ten game Vitalis Sun Bowl Home Games in BOLD CAPS MEN S SWIMMING SCHEDULE Oct. 21 at UW-Milwaukee W, 141-93 22 TEXAS A&M L, 149.5-144.5 23 NU RELAYS 1st/5 23 UIC Diving Invitational 4th/4 Nov. 4 at Purdue * L, 171-129 vs. Michigan State * W, 205-91 10 at Wisconsin * W, 125-99 18-20 at Purdue Invite 3rd/5 Dec. 2 INDIANA * L, 161-139 Jan. 13-14 Dallas Morning News Meet All Day (Dallas, Texas) 20 NOTRE DAME 6 p.m. 27 IOWA * 5 p.m. Feb. 3 MICHIGAN * 5 p.m. 23-25 Big Ten Championships All Day (Bloomington, Ind.) March 4-5 at NCAA Qualifying Meet TBA 10-12 at NCAA Diving Zone TBA 23-25 at NCAA ChampionshipsAll Day (Atlanta, Ga.) * Big Ten meet Home meets in BOLD CAPS WOMEN S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Nov. 19 CREIGHTON W, 93-77 22 at Missouri L, 87-64 26 at UIC W, 81-78 30 at Valparaiso L, 57-51 (Mildred and Roger L. White Invitational Evanston, Ill.) Dec. 2 vs. MIAMI (OHIO) W, 79-73 3 vs. ST. JOHN S L, 95-53 10 NEBRASKA L, 80-50 14 at Western Michigan L, 90-72 17 ST. MARY S W, 77-60 22 DEPAUL L, 78-58 29 vs. Minnesota * (at UIC) L, 69-54 Jan. 1 at Wisconsin * L, 74-45 5 OHIO STATE * 7 p.m. 8 at Illinois * 2 p.m. 12 INDIANA * 7 p.m. 15 IOWA * 2 p.m. 18 UW-MILWAUKEE 7 p.m. 22 PENN STATE * 2 p.m. 26 at Michigan * 6 p.m. 29 at Purdue * 1 p.m. Feb. 2 MICHIGAN STATE * 7 p.m. 5 WISCONSIN * 2 p.m. 9 at Iowa * 7 p.m. 12 at Indiana * 1p.m. 16 ILLINOIS * 7 p.m. 23 at Penn State * 6 p.m. 26 at Minnesota * 2 p.m. March 2-6 Big Ten Tournament TBD (Indianapolis, Ind.) * Big Ten game Home Games in BOLD CAPS
2005 WILDCAT WINTER SPORTS SCOREBOARD Men s Basketball Men s Tennis Women s Tennis Wrestling MEN S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Nov. 13-15 BCA Invitational (Laramie, Wyo.) 13 vs. Lehigh W, 61-59 14 Charlotte W, 61-47 15 UNC Wilmington L, 56-48 21 FLORIDA ATLANTIC W, 69-59 26 at DePaul L, 59-49 30 at Virginia (ESPNU) L, 72-57 (ACC/Big Ten Challenge) Dec. 3 DELAWARE STATE W, 61-54 (OT) 14 ILLINOIS-CHICAGO L, 71-62 18 at Seton Hall W, 44-42 23 DEPAUW W, 69-36 Jan. 1 N. COLORADO W, 82-47 4 PURDUE * 6 p.m. 7 Minnesota * (ESPN+) 1 p.m. 11 PENN STATE * 7 p.m. 14 at Wisconsin * (ESPN+) 1:30 p.m. 18 at Michigan * (ESPN+) 7 p.m. 21 ILLINOIS * (ESPN+) 7 p.m. 25 at Purdue * 7 p.m. Feb. 1 at Indiana * (ESPN+) 7 p.m. 4 MICHIGAN STATE * (ESPN+) 7 p.m. 8 IOWA * (ESPN+) 7 p.m. 11 IPFW Noon 15 at Illinois * (ESPN+) 7 p.m. 18 at Ohio State * (ESPN+) 1:30 p.m. 23 WISCONSIN * (ESPN2) 8 p.m. 25 at Penn State * (ESPN+) 2:30 p.m. March 1 OHIO STATE * (ESPN+) 7 p.m. 4 MINNESOTA * (ESPN+) 7 p.m. 9-12 Big Ten Tournament (Indianapolis, Ind.) * Big Ten game Home Games in BOLD CAPS WOMEN S TENNIS SCHEDULE Jan. 13-15 National Collegiate All Day Tennis Championships (Indian Wells, Calif) 20-22 WILDCAT INVITATIONAL (Evanston, Ill.) All Day 28 at Texas 1 p.m. Feb. 2-5 National Team Indoor All Day Championships (Madison, Wis.) 11 ALABAMA 10 a.m. 11 FURMAN 6 p.m. 17 HARVARD 6 p.m. 18 WISCONSIN * 4 p.m. 25 at North Carolina 11 a.m. 26 at Duke 1 p.m. March 4 at Georgia Tech Noon 21 at Washington 2 p.m. 25 at Michigan State * 10 a.m. 26 at Michigan * 11 a.m. April 1 INDIANA * 11 a.m. 2 PENN STATE * 11 a.m. 5 at Notre Dame 3:30 p.m. 8 at Minnesota * 11 a.m. 9 at Iowa * 10 a.m. 15 at Illinois * 11 a.m. 16 at Purdue * 11 a.m. 23 OHIO STATE * 11 a.m. 27-30 Big Ten Championships All Day (Champaign, Ill.) May 12-14 NCAA Regionals All Day 18-27 NCAA Championships All Day * Big Ten match Home Matches in BOLD CAPS MEN S TENNIS SCHEDULE Jan. 8 ILLINOIS-CHICAGO 1 p.m. 13 at Loisville 5 p.m. 15 at Ball State 1 p.m. 19 DEPAUL 6 p.m. 21 NOTRE DAME 6 p.m. 27 at North Carolina 5 p.m. 29 at Wake Forest 11 a.m. Feb. 5 HARVARD 1 p.m. 11 at Tulsa 6 p.m. 12 at Oral Roberts 11 a.m. 18 at Wisconsin * Noon 24 MICHIGAN * 6 p.m. 25 MICHIGAN STATE * 6 p.m. Mach 4 at Tulane TBA 23 DENVER Noon 31 at Penn State * 3 p.m. April 2 at Indiana * Noon 8 MINNESOTA * Noon 9 IOWA * Noon 15 PURDUE * Noon 16 ILLINOIS * Noon 22 at Ohio State * Noon 27-30 Big Ten Championships TBA (Minneapolis, Minn.) May 13-14 NCAA Regionals TBA 20-28 NCAA Championships TBA (Stanford, Calif.) * Big Ten match Home Matches in BOLD CAPS WRESTLING SCHEDULE Nov. 12-13 Michigan State Open All Day Dec. 1 Northern Illinois W, 28-10 15 U. OF CHICAGO W, 32-12 U. OF INDIANAPOLIS W, 38-12 18 Reno Tournament of Champions (Reno, Nev.) 3rd/27 29-30 43RD MIDLANDS CHAMPIONSHIPS 10th/66 Jan. 8 Eastern Illinois 1:30 p.m. 14-15 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals (Cedar Falls, Iowa) All Day 20 Minnesota * 7 p.m. 22 Wisconsin * 2 p.m. 28 Michigan * 7 p.m. Feb. 3 OHIO STATE * 7 p.m. 5 ILLINOIS * 7 p.m. 10 MICHIGAN STATE * 7 p.m. 12 Iowa * 2 p.m. 17 INDIANA * 7 p.m. March 4-5 Big Ten Championships All Day ( Bloomington, Ind.) 16-18 NCAA Championships All Day (Oklahoma City, Okla.) * Big Ten match Home Matches in BOLD CAPS