Dillo Day is right around the corner, and with an NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Quarterfinal wrapping up and Rutgers coming to town to take on Ben Greenspan and company, we at InsideNU put our minds to work to find what memories Northwestern athletics have given ‘Cats faithful on Dillo Day weekend.
Here’s what we came up with.
May 27, 2012: Lacrosse secures its seventh NCAA title
In a scrappy National Championship contest, Northwestern found some late-game magic from Honda Sports Award winner Taylor Thornton to rise over No. 4 Syracuse for its seventh national
title in eight years. Despite the ‘Cats’ lack of ball security on the night, much of their success in the clutch emerged from dominance on the draw, led by Alyssa Leonard on her ascendency to becoming one of the best draw takers in the nation. At night’s end, Shannon Smith would take home her second consecutive MVP award of the NCAA Championship after a two-goal, two-assist performance, solidifying her place amongst the all-time greats in the Kelly Amonte Hiller era.
In short, this seventh title marked the poetic end to the beginning of what would later be known as “The Lake Show”.
May 19, 2017: Baseball sweeps Rutgers to secure Big Ten Tournament berth
Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, second-year head coach Spencer Allen was in the middle of a competitive playoff push: a three-team race for the final two spots in the Big Ten Tournament. With Purdue breathing down its neck and Michigan State not too far behind, seventh-place NU needed a series win over the Scarlet Knights to give itself the best chance to clinch its first berth in the conference tournament since 2010.
It emphatically did the job: the series win fueled by two shutout efforts led by Cooper Wetherbee, who had dropped his ERA five runs from an 8.89 mark a season ago, and Hank Christie, who was in the middle of an All-Big Ten Freshman Team campaign, in games one and two, respectively. Josh Davis secured the sweep with seven innings of one-run ball in game three, fueling the most improbable run Northwestern has ever had in the Big Ten Tournament, overcoming No. 2-seed Michigan, No. 3-seed Minnesota and No. 4-seed Maryland to reach the final, where they fell agonizingly short to No. 5-seed Iowa.
Nonetheless, NU’s eight-game win streak at the end of 2017 stands as one of the most memorable runs in recent Wildcat diamond sports memory.
May 22, 2021: Lacrosse throttles No. 7 Duke in NCAA Quarterfinal
In front of a sold-out audience, a junior Izzy Scane sparked an all-out Wildcat offensive barrage in the second half of the NCAA Quarterfinals against the Blue Devils.
At halftime, this game was a back-and-forth, tug-of-war-like contest. Duke seized a five-goal lead just twelve minutes into the game and seemed to have an upset within its grasp.
That was before an 11-2 Northwestern run altered that sentiment. Before Blue Devil fans could even think to utter the word “upset”, the ‘Cats silenced the noise.
But a four-goal advantage wasn’t enough for Scane and friends. They decided to empty the clip in the second half, hurling 21 shots at a helpless Sophia LeRose in goal for Duke. By the final buzzer, 22 Northwestern shots had found the back of the net, five of which were credited to Scane. Six additionally went to NU’s leading scorer and senior attacker Lauren Gilbert, while a pair went to the Wildcats’ resident “point guard” Erin Coykendall, to go with two assists and four ground ball pickups.
Sheer dominance.
May 21, 2022: Baseball up-ends Minnesota with six-run comeback in season finale
At the turn of the decade, the Northwestern baseball program was undergoing a changing of the guard. In its transition to a new era, it would see four different head coaches within five years, while winning took a back seat to the larger issue of finding its identity.
However, the ‘Cats would find some 2017-like heroics in its season finale against the Golden Gophers.
After being silenced for seven frames, NU put up a pair of runs in the eighth to cut into a five-run Minnesota lead. The Wildcats would load the bases soon after, but a Stephen Hrustich flyout seemed to end the comeback bid.
Then came the ninth — the ‘Cats revival.
Anthony Calarco went deep to left to chop the lead to one, Jay Beshears doubled just two pitches later and Ethan O’Donnell moved him to third with a base hit.
On the brink of victory, Ruben Fontes pushed the Wildcats over the hump with a bases-clearing double. 6-5 Northwestern and it wouldn’t look back from there, eventually plating two more to lock down the win.
May 22, 2022: Softball completes sweep of Evanston Regional
Kate Drohan’s best team of the last decade, led by Jordyn Rudd and Rachel Lewis, made quick work of Oakland and McNeese at Sharon J. Drysdale Field to punch its ticket to the Tempe Super Regional. On a memorable day that brought 1,120 members of ‘Cats faithful to The J, NU smoked the Cowgirls for the second consecutive game, wrapping it up in five innings to advance in the NCAA Tournament. Rudd finished the regional with five hits and six RBIs at the dish, while Lewis doubled, tripled and homered over the weekend.
The duo would power the Wildcats over No. 8 Arizona State in a hard-fought three-game series to advance to the Women’s College World Series, Northwestern’s first since 2007.
May 19, 2025: Women’s golf sparks its improbable run to a national championship
With a second-place finish in the Norman Regionals, Northwestern women’s golf booked a trip to its third consecutive NCAA Championship Finals.
This one, however, was more magical than any other.
Three NU golfers finished the preliminary round of championship week in the top-20 en route to a team score of 2-over and moved on to match play, building a head of steam into the following Tuesday. Against Arkansas, the Cardiac ‘Cats secured a 3-2 win on the 19th hole, thanks to Lauryn Nguyen’s cold-blooded playoff victory on hole 19.
In the semifinals, Northwestern ran into the Big Ten Champion Oregon Ducks – the No. 2 team in the nation. It didn’t matter. Another 3-2 win for the Wildcats later in the day, which came via individual triumphs from Ashley Yun, Elise Lee and Dianna Lee (who was battling through sickness all week).
That brought them to Wednesday, where they saw the top-ranked Stanford Cardinal in an epic championship matchup.
The result? Copy and paste for NU’s first-ever national championship in women’s golf, secured by none other than the sickened Lee with a putt that will forever live on in Northwestern glory.
