With Northwestern Spring Sports season all wrapped up, it’s time for some Spring Quarter awards. Our staffers voted on some end-of-the-year superlatives. Read on to find out who our staff picked as Northwestern Spring Sports’ game of the year, player of the year, freshman of the year, and more.
Spring Sports’ Player of the Year: Hannah Kim, Women’s Golf
How they voted: Kim 6, Amy Letourneau 5, Sam Shropshire 1
After an amazing freshman year, Hannah Kim proved she’s the real deal by winning back-to-back Big Ten player of the year honors. – Jason Dorow
When you are your program’s first ever 1st Team All American, I think that automatically makes you Northwestern’s Spring Sports Player of the Year – Caleigh Ryan
Amy Letoruneau was a workhorse for the softball team’s pitching staff and lineup this season, and was without a doubt the ‘Cats’ best player. She’s a big reason why they made the NCAA Tourney. – Ryan Fish
No one but Letourneau was so dominant in multiple aspects—she crushed it as a pitcher and at the plate. – Sam Brief
Sam Shropshire, when he was healthy, was unstoppable and played like a machine. Good enough to be no 1 singles on almost any team in the country, he balled out at no. 2. – Amit Mallik
Spring Sports Freshman of the Year: Stephanie Lau, Women’s Golf
How they voted: Lau 7, Morgan Nelson 2, Mallory Weisse 1, Ben Vandixhorn 1, Jack Dunn 1
Another really easy choice from women’s golf. It’s impossible to overstate how good this team was, and Lau was a big part of that. Honorable mention to Weisse, who was really good in cage for lax, but it’s tough to vote against Lau. – Austin Miller
Morgan Nelson’s going to be a stud in Northwestern’s lineup for the foreseeable future. – Ryan Fish
It was a largely underwhelming season for the lacrosse team this year. But imagine what kind of season it would’ve been without the presence of Mallory Weisse between the pipes. She earned the starting job in the offseason and proved she deserved it immediately, and she only got better as the season went on, keeping the ‘Cats in some games and enabling them to win others. – Tim Hackett
It was a rough season for baseball but Jack Dunn, the everyday starting shortstop even as a freshman, was a rare bright spot both offensively and defensively. – Josh Burton
Spring Sports Coach of the Year: Arvid Swan, Men’s Tennis
How they voted: Swan 6, Emily Fletcher 4, Kate Drohan 1, Kelly Amonte Hiller 1
Arvid Swan made the jump with a team that was ranked 20-25 for the last few years up to 12 and defeated in state rivals Illinois. He was named ITA Midwest coach of the year and deserves our award for punching above his weight. – Amit Mallik
Men’s tennis had a historic year when almost no one was expecting it. That credit should in part go to Swan, whose team beat ranked foes all season. – Josh Burton
Arvid Swan really helped the tennis program develop into a top team in the nation. – Matt McHugh
It takes guts to bench your senior in postseason play, but Fletcher did just that, and it paid off for the ‘Cats, who were co-Big Ten champs, and finished 9th in the NCAA. – Austin Miller
Grit. Clutch. Fight. Qualities that Northwestern Lacrosse has and showed especially at the end of the season, and it was all due to Amonte Hiller. – Nick Scoliard
Spring Sports Game of the Year: Men’s Tennis’ Win over No. 8 Illinois
How they voted: Tennis 4, Softball’s win over No. 2 Michigan 3, Women’s Golf’s win in the Shoal Creek Regional 2, Kate Drohan’s 500th win 1, Women’s Lacrosse’s win vs. Notre Dame 1, Softball’s loss to Oklahoma State in the NCAA Tournament 1
The win itself at Illinois was cathartic, thrilling and a monument to how far the team came this year. Ben Vandixhorn’s comeback from 5-2 down in the second set to win the match and the tie breaking point for a 4-3 victory was fantastic. the crowd at Combe tennis center was also a rocking 500+ strong. – Amit Mallik
One reason: HAT. – Josh Burton
Northwestern Women’s Golf won the Shoal Creek Regional, the toughest regional of the five, by EIGHTEEN STROKES. If that doesn’t net Spring Sports Game of the Year then I don’t know what will. – Ari Ross
Softball’s win over Michigan had the drama that most of these other games did not include. The ‘Cats scored all 13 of their runs in the 4th-6th innings, and then Nicole Bond staved off a 5-run Michigan rally in the 7th. – Jason Dorow
Both the softball game against Michigan and the tennis match against Illinois were remarkable upsets and deserve this title, but, in theory, they could happen again. Something much less common is a milestone accomplishment like Kate Drohan’s. She and her sister have quietly become Northwestern coaching legends during their tenures here, and that 500th win is something to be commended. – Tim Hackett
