Women’s Basketball
Friday, March 17: vs. Georgia Southern, 6:30 p.m. – Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats
Saturday, March 18: vs. California Baptist/North Dakota 5/6:30 p.m. – Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats
Sunday, March 19: vs. TBA
NIU women’s basketball will play in the Women’s Basketball Invitational this weekend in Lexington, Ky. This is the Huskies’ first appearance in a national postseason tournament since the 2017 postseason WNIT. The Huskies will play three games this weekend, starting with a 6:30 p.m. CT matchup against Georgia Southern in the first-ever meeting between NIU and the Eagles. NIU will face either California Baptist or North Dakota on Saturday. The top half of the WBI bracket features East Tennessee State, FIU, UIC and New Mexico State. A full preview of the WBI will be available on NIUHuskies.com later this week.
Softball
Tuesday, March 14: at Lindenwood, 2 p.m. – Watch Live | Live Stats
Friday, March 17: vs. Akron, 1 p.m. – Watch Live | Live Stats
Saturday, March 18: vs. Akron, 3 p.m. – Watch Live | Live Stats
After earning three wins last weekend at the Saint Louis Opening Round-Robin, NIU returns to action quickly as the squad faces Lindenwood (5-14) tomorrow (March 14) at 2 p.m. at the Lou Brock Complex.
The Huskies finished the event going 3-1 after beating Bradley twice and the hosts, Saint Louis, once. Junior first baseman Caitlyn Shumaker posted a homer in each of the team’s wins over Bradley, including the team’s first grand slam of the year in game two. She finished the weekend with six RBI, three scores, three stolen bases and a BA of .417 to lead the Huskies.
Freshman pitcher Danielle Stewart had a team-low ERA of 1.56. Stewart (3-5) allowed just four hits, two walks, and two runs through nine innings of work. The freshman fanned six batters (three in each game) while only allowing three hits to go for extra bases.
Wrestling
Thursday-Saturday, March 16-18: Izzak Olejnik at NCAA Championships – Watch Live | Live Stats
Izzak Olejnik earned the No. 12 seed in the 165 division of the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships this Thursday-Saturday at the BOK Center in Tulsa. Olejnik will square off against No. 21 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Oklahoma) Thursday morning in the first round.
Olejnik earned an automatic bid to the national tournament after taking first place at the MAC Championships March 4. The Huskie redshirt senior was tabbed Most Outstanding Wrestler at the event after dismantling four-straight foes en route the podium’s peak; two of his wins were via pin and tech fall.
Olejnik will look to build off his previous three appearances in the tournament as he’ll aim for All-American status for the first time in his career.
Gymnastics
Saturday, March 18: at MAC Championships (Kent, Ohio), 1 p.m. – Live Stats (TBA) | ESPN+
The NIU gymnastics team competes in the Mid-American Conference Championships in Kent, Ohio on Saturday as the seven-team meet gets underway at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT at the M.A.C. Center.
The Huskies have finished first or second in each of the last four MAC Championships (the meet was not held in 2020 due to COVID-19), winning the title in 2019 and finishing .150 behind first place Central Michigan a year ago. Natalie Hamp will look to become NIU’s first three-time MAC Champion as the Ionia, Michigan senior has won the title on uneven bars in each of the last two years. She ranks first in the league on bars going into the meet, while teammate Alyssa Al-Ashari is second in the MAC on bars and ranks third on balance beam.
The seven-rotation meet see NIU start on uneven parallel bars after a bye in the first rotation, then compete on beam and, after another bye, floor exercise. The Huskies close out the meet on vault in the final rotation. See a complete preview of the meet later this week on NIUHuskies.com and go to MAC-Sports.com for more information.
Baseball
Wednesday, March 15: at Purdue, 3 p.m. – Live Stats
Friday, March 17: at Miami, 2 p.m. – Live Stats
Saturday, March 18: at Miami, 1 p.m. – Live Stats
Sunday, March 19: at Miami, noon – Live Stats
The NIU baseball team wraps up its season-opening road swing this week at Purdue and Miami. The Huskies’ offense has come alive over the last nine games, averaging almost nine runs per game. Shortstop Andre Demetral is currently on a six-game hitting streak after hitting over .400 in the series at Kent State last weekend. Colin Summerhill also hit over .400 against Kent State and leads NIU with a .321 batting average, .464 slugging percentage and 12 RBI. Last season’s meeting at Purdue was a high-scoring affair won by the Boilermakers 17-14. NIU and Miami split last season’s four-game series in DeKalb in which three of the four games were decided by two runs or less.
Track & Field
Friday-Saturday, March 17-18: at Yellow Jacket Invitational (Atlanta, Ga.)
Outdoor season begins this weekend for the NIU women’s track and field team as the Huskies travel to Atlanta, Ga., to compete in the Yellow Jacket Invitational, hosted by Georgia Tech. The meet will begin on Friday at 11:30 a.m. CT with field events and action on track starting at 4:30 p.m. CT. Competition on Saturday starts with the high jump at 11 a.m. CT and track events beginning at 12 p.m. CT. NIU is returning to action for the first time since the MAC Indoor Championships, where the Huskies took eighth. Kadeja Campbell won the 200 and 400 meters at the conference indoor meet and was also part of NIU’s 4×400-meter relay championship team, along with Christine Irving, Roshell Rowe and Jahnetta Jones.
The Huskies will be joined at Georgia Tech by Belmont, Boston College, Clemson, Georgia, Lipscomb, Mercer, Missouri and UNC Asheville.
Men’s Golf
Monday-Tuesday, March 20-21: at Missouri State Intercollegiate – Live Scores
The NIU men’s golf team starts its spring season at the Missouri State Intercollegiate next Monday and Tuesday. The Huskies wrapped up the fall season at the Saint Mary’s Invitational in early November, finishing eighth. Tommy Dunsire posted his second top-10 finish of the fall by tying for ninth at one-over par with a 54-hole score of 214. He leads the Huskies in scoring average at 71.9. Sophomore Ben Sluzas is second on the team with a 72.6 scoring average. Sluzas was named MAC Golfer of the Week for his medalist finish at the Badger Invitational in September, scoring a nine-under par 135 in the weather-shortened event.
Women’s Tennis
Sunday, March 19: at Bowling Green (Perrysburg, Ohio), Noon – Live Stats
The NIU women’s tennis team continues its mid-semester break before opening Mid-American Conference dual match play Sunday at Bowling Green. The Huskies, who face MAC opponents in 10 of the last 11 matches of the season, are 9-8 on the year while Bowling Green is 6-5.
Freshman Nataly Ninova, who earned MAC Co-Singles Player of the Week honors on March 9, leads NIU with a record of 15-2 in singles, including a 5-0 mark at the No. 3 singles spot. Three other Huskies – Erika Dimitriev, Diana Lukyanova and Isabella Righi – have won 10 singles matches each. Ninova is also a part of the Huskies’ winningest doubles tandem to date as she and partner Reagan Welch are 8-5 on the season.
Men’s Tennis
Friday, March 17 at Toledo
Sunday, March 19 at Ball State
The Huskie men’s tennis team opened conference play with a pair of victories, topping Buffalo and Binghamton this past weekend to improve to 10-4 overall on the season. Oliver Valentinsson extended his win streak to seven with a pair of wins, he currently has a 10-2 overall record. Iker Gaztambide Arrastia also has 10 victories after winning both of his matches against the Bulls and Bearcats. In doubles, Valentinsson and Armin Koschtojan went 2-0 with past weekend and currently have a four-match win streak.
NIU is on the road for the first time in league play this weekend as it travels to Toledo on Friday and Ball State on Sunday. The Rockets come into the weekend with a 9-3 overall record, 1-0 in MAC play, while Ball State is 8-5 overall, 0-1 in conference action.