The NUmbers Guy: 2015 Spring Quarter NUMBY Awards

Ari Ross (@aross50) and Ryan Fish (@ryanmfish) hand out the 2015 Spring Quarter NUMBY Awards to the top performers of the quarter.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Spring Quarter NUMBY Awards. What’s a NUMBY?  In the words of former WNUR Sports’ staffer Jim Sannes, a NUMBY, “is a horrible attempt at an award name by yours truly that will be used to “honor” the greatest accomplishments and moments this year in Northwestern athletics.” Horrible or not, let’s get to the 2015 Spring Quarter NUMBY nominees. For the winners, you’ll have to listen to the NUmbers Guy podcast.

NUMBY for Male Athlete of the Quarter Nominees: Kyle Ruchim, OF and Jake Stolley, RP. With just one male sport, both nominees go to baseball. Ruchim hit .358/.416/.585 with 6 home runs and 24 RBIs, while missing 18 games. Even with the missed games, Ruchim still led the Wildcats in batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage. Stolley, on the other hand, was the Wildcats’ best reliever, going 2-3 with a 2.98 ERA and 7 saves.

NUMBY for Female Athlete of the Quarter Nominees: Selena Lasota, Sheila Nesselbush, Kaleigh Craig, Kristen Wood and Sabrina Rabin. Lasota had 69 goals for the Wildcats, as a freshman while Craig and Nesselbush added 46 and 27 goals, respectively. Lasota was the best player on the field for Northwestern while Nesselbush helped the ‘Cats with draw controls with the graduation of NCAA-leader Alyssa Leonard. On the diamond, Kristen Wood was fantastic, going 16-11 with a 4.30 ERA and a .237 opponent batting average. Sabrina Rabin won Big Ten freshman of the year as she solidified the ‘Cats leadoff spot and play in center field with a .448 OBP.

NUMBY for Freshman Athlete of the Quarter Nominees: Lasota, Rabin, Hannah Kim and Erin Larner. All four won Big Ten freshman of the year in their respective sports and Northwestern swept the award in Big Ten Spring Women’s sports. Kim posted a 73.39 average score, while Larner posted a 29-12 record, 8-3 in the B1G.

NUMBY for Best Game of the Quarter Nominees: Northwestern Lacrosse’s Comeback win vs. USC, Kristen Wood’s no-hitter vs. Ball State, Northwestern Softball’s 19-0 victory over Wisconsin and Brandon Magallones 2-hit shutout vs. Maryland.

NUMBY for Best Season of the Quarter Nominees: Lacrosse went 14-7, 3-2 in the Big Ten on their way to the NCAA quarterfinals, where they lost to No. 1 seeded Maryland. Softball went 28-23, 14-8 in the Big Ten and earned an NCAA Tournament berth, while Women’s golf swept every major award in the Big Ten on their way to a Big Ten Championship and a NCAA Tournament berth.

NUMBY for Best Coach of the Quarter Nominees: Kelly Amonte Hiller guided Northwestern Lacrosse to another great season, but couldn’t continue Northwestern’s streak of Final Four berths. While the baseball team didn’t succeed on the diamond, Coach Paul Stevens had an incredible 28-year career at Northwestern and we’d be remiss not to include him here. Finally, Emily Fletcher, the head coach of the Women’s Golf team led the ‘Cats to a Big Ten Tournament Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth.

Who did the NUmbers Guys give the Spring Quarter NUMBYs to? Listen to the podcast to find out.

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