Wildcats shoot for bounceback campaign

By JAKE EPSTEIN daily senior staffer @jakeepste1n

After a difficult season that culminated in a first-round conference tournament loss to Rutgers, Northwestern will look to make significant strides in the second season of the post-Veronica Burton era.

While the Wildcats struggled to find their footing in a grueling Big Ten slate, several players emerged as potential pieces for coach Joe McKeown to build around in hopes of flipping the program’s fortunes.

Junior forward Caileigh Walsh displayed elite post presence at times, and will look to emulate her success at a more efficient clip this season. Walsh’s ability to stretch the floor makes her an irreplaceable component of McKeown’s system.

Alongside Walsh, senior forward Paige Mott emerged as a mid-season scoring stalwart for NU, piling on a flurry of double-digit outputs for the Cats. With Mott and Walsh both firing on offense, McKeown’s squad becomes difficult to slow down.

With last year’s starting point guard Kaylah Rainey transferring to Tulane, sophomore guard Caroline Lau now holds the keys to NU’s offense. Lau showed flashes of brilliance during her inaugural season in Welsh-Ryan Arena, and McKeown described the guard as a “gym rat,” constantly striving to improve.

The Cats’ identity rests in their tenacious defense, and junior guard Hailey Weaver embodies the team’s mantra of defense-first basketball, thriving in opposing passing lanes. Expect Weaver to provide crucial minutes — either in the starting five or off the bench.

Although a bevy of returners hand McKeown plenty of options to craft his rotation, NU must vastly improve on last season’s display to compete in a stacked conference schedule. jacobepstein2026@u.northwestern.edu

By MICAH SANDY daily senior staffer @themicahsandy

Following a season of records both on the purple Welsh-Ryan Arena home mats and on the road, No.13 Northwestern Wrestling is poised to hit the ground running towards more achievements this upcoming winter season.

The Cats (7-3) had a strong home start, competing in and hosting the 58th Ken Kraft Midlands Championship in December. With three wrestlers taking first place in their respective weight classes, the team took home the Team Champions’ banner after topping Penn, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin and Illinois in the team leaderboard.

The regular season ended with a 5-3 Big Ten record following Northwestern’s last conference victory against No. 9 Minnesota. Sporting their home singlets and scoring wins for six out

By NICOLE MARKUS daily senior staffer @nicolejmarkus

The Wildcats achieved a nearly 77% win rate in 2022-23, a record they will try to top this upcoming year.

The Cats — led by coach Zach Moss — had a 43-13 record. Excellence was not limited to the court, as 20 Cats earned United States Fencing Coaches Association All-Academic honors, leading the Central College Fencing Conference.

The team’s impressive regular season performance was enough to land them a No. 4 spot in

of the nine individual matches, the successful dual-meet represented the Cats’ first home win over the Golden Gophers since 1996. With the 2021-22 season’s Big Ten record having previously represented their best conference performance, coach Matt Storniolo and the team are becoming a force to be reckoned with for the upcoming season.

Beyond their regular season schedule, 10 Cats competed in the 2023 Big Ten Championships at Ann Arbor, Michigan, seven of whom earned podium finishes. Then-redshirt senior heavyweight Lucas Davison also landed a bookend fifth-place finish at the NCAA championships, earning All-American honors while doing so. With the team only working their way up from high points, it’s best not to miss the takedowns and the pins at the Welsh-Ryan Arena this season. micahsandy2026@u.northwestern.edu