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Weekend Recap - 9/29
XC at Lucian Rosa, VB celebrates comeback vs Parkside, WSOC celebrates one of Killunen's goals

General

Weekend Recap in NMU Athletics: 9/22 - 9/28

Volleyball has massive weekend, cross country continues to impress, both soccer teams earn conference wins, and more!

Volleyball
  • 3-2 win over Parkside
  • 3-0 win over Roosevelt
After a stretch that saw the 'Cats lose 26 straight sets, NMU set the ship right in their first two home matches of the season, downing the (then) undefeated Parkside Rangers and sweeping the Roosevelt Lakers.

After Northern took the opening set in thrilling fashion 26-24, Parkside responded with decisive wins in the second and third. Trailing two sets to one, Northern persevered as it did throughout the night. Perhaps their biggest test came in the fifth, when they trailed 6-3 in the race to 15. From that point, the 'Cats clawed out of the hole and took over the rest of the way with a remarkable 9-0 run, highlighted by six emphatic kills. NMU scored 12 of the final 13 points overall to get Vandament loud and rocking by the time the final point was secured. 

It was a tightly contested match with Northern needing extra points in two of three sets, but the Wildcats' key players stepped up when needed most against Roosevelt. Senior McKenzie Gruner tied a career high with 15 kills, including eight in the second set. She finished with a .414 attack percentage and co-led the team with Emilia Gulock at 2.5 blocks apiece. As a team, the 'Cats matched their season high with nine blocks.


Women's Soccer
  • 0-4 loss to No. 3 Grand Valley State
  • 4-0 win over Davenport
After opening the weekend with a loss to one of the top teams in the nation, the Wildcats responded with a commanding performance on Sunday.

The Wildcats outshot the Panthers 23-11, including 11 on target to five, both nearly matching the season-highs in those categories set against Roosevelt in the 4-2 win earlier this season. NMU also possessed the ball well, controlling play nearly 60% of the time and spending more than half of their time with the ball in the opposition's half. The first and third goals came from the same two players, as it was Addison Frantti who set up Hannah Kastamo in the first goal before Kastamo returned the favor with an assist on the Frantti goal. The Wildcats also got a brace from Irene Killunen, who scored from near-identical spots off a pair of free kicks. Gretchen Ellis turned in a great game as well, tacking on an assist while playing 80 minutes, only subbed off once to check a potential injury. 


Men's Soccer
  • 1-0 win at Purdue Northwest
  • 0-1 loss at Roosevelt
The Wildcats split the long road weekend, earning a crucial three points at PNW before playing the reigning GLIAC regular season champions to a close match.

NMU got its first conference win of the season, earning a crucial three points on the road and snapping a four-game losing streak in Hammond, as the last time the 'Cats won at Purdue Northwest was October 24, 2021, also a 1-0 decision. NMU got the game's lone goal from Luca Rosen, who finished off a tic-tac-toe play from Teun Van Gansewinkel and James Carr. Asaf Kristal stopped everything that was on target, earning the third clean sheet of the season and first of the conference schedule. 

The Wildcats lost its first game on the road this season, as they found themselves in the midst of a physical game. The teams combined for 37 fouls and eight yellow cards, with seven of the bookings going against the Wildcats. Nine of the 11 starters played 78+ minutes against the eighth-ranked team in the region, including a full 90 minutes from Asaf Kristal, Terry Grimaldi, Quint Van Roij, Teun Van Gansewinkel, and Owen Rutledge. Ian Weimer and Isaac Cervantes added big minutes from the bench today, with 53 and 58, respectively. 


Cross Country
  • 4th of 23 at Lucian Rosa Invite
The Northern Michigan cross country team continued its surgical start to the season, placing 4th out of 23 teams at Saturday's Lucian Rosa Invite in Wisconsin.

The Wildcats finished behind Adams State, Colorado School of Mines, and UC-Colorado Springs, all top-8 nationally ranked programs and perennial powerhouses on the national stage. Northern, currently receiving votes in the latest USTFCCCA National Poll, placed ahead of several other nationally ranked teams, including CSU Pueblo (15th), Lee (12th), Minnesota State (24th), Cal Poly Pomona (26th), and Parkside (25th).

Senior Madi Szymanski led the Green and Gold with a 9th-place finish in a field of 207 runners, crossing the line in 21:37.1. Freshman Ashley Choponis wasn't far behind, taking 18th in a personal-best 21:51.92. Lamar Gordon (22:28.88) and Sophia Potter (22:32.57) also recorded career-best times, finishing 41st and 44th, respectively. Emma Sweeney ran a PR of 22:46.43 for 60th, while Dani Van Lente (22:57.11, 73rd) and Beverly Harper (23:08.30, 84th) rounded out the counting scores. Madalyn Agren also cracked the top 100, finishing 87th in 23:12.8.


Women's Golf
  • 12th of 13 at Warrior Invitational
  • 13th of 13 at Bulldog Fall Classic
The team wrapped up competition at the Warrior Invitational on Tuesday, finishing 12th of 13 teams and shooting a three-round total of 1013 (+149).

After shooting rounds of +51 and +60 on Monday, the Wildcats had its best round on Tuesday, shaving off 22 strokes from round two to shoot a third round +38, the eighth-best score in round three. Leading the Wildcats was Maddy Martens, who after shooting an opening round +13 responded with back-to-back rounds of +7, giving her a three-round total of +27 (243) to finish T34 in a field of 78.

The team concluded play at the Bulldog Fall Classic, finishing 13th of 13 teams with a two-day total of 680 (+104).

After an opening round of 349, the 'Cats shaved 18 strokes off their score in round two, shooting a 331 (+43). Maddy Martens had the low round of the day for the 'Cats, shooting a 79 (+7) and moving up five spots in the field to finish 44th.


 
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Players Mentioned

McKenzie Gruner

#5 McKenzie Gruner

MB
6' 2"
Senior
Emilia Gulock

#11 Emilia Gulock

MB
6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
James Carr

#2 James Carr

D
5' 10"
Sophomore
Isaac Cervantes

#27 Isaac Cervantes

D
5' 11"
Sophomore
Teun Van Gansewinkel

#7 Teun Van Gansewinkel

F
6' 0"
Sophomore
Quint Van Roij

#6 Quint Van Roij

MF
6' 0"
Sophomore
Asaf Kristal

#1 Asaf Kristal

GK
6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
Terry Grimaldi

#4 Terry Grimaldi

D
6' 1"
Freshman
Luca Rosen

#10 Luca Rosen

F
5' 9"
Junior
Ian Weimer

#20 Ian Weimer

F
6' 3"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

McKenzie Gruner

#5 McKenzie Gruner

6' 2"
Senior
MB
Emilia Gulock

#11 Emilia Gulock

6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
MB
James Carr

#2 James Carr

5' 10"
Sophomore
D
Isaac Cervantes

#27 Isaac Cervantes

5' 11"
Sophomore
D
Teun Van Gansewinkel

#7 Teun Van Gansewinkel

6' 0"
Sophomore
F
Quint Van Roij

#6 Quint Van Roij

6' 0"
Sophomore
MF
Asaf Kristal

#1 Asaf Kristal

6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
GK
Terry Grimaldi

#4 Terry Grimaldi

6' 1"
Freshman
D
Luca Rosen

#10 Luca Rosen

5' 9"
Junior
F
Ian Weimer

#20 Ian Weimer

6' 3"
Sophomore
F