Wildcat of the Week: Trevor Stevens

Northwestern sports carries on.

The news that Bill Carmody will not return as Northwestern’s men’s basketball head coach dominated the headlines throughout the weekend and the speculation dominated before that. It was a tough week for Northwestern fans when looking at basketball and the revenue sports.

It was also the last week for Winter sports as the student athletes prepare for Finals this week. So we keep the positivity train rolling and look at who performed so admirably for U Northwestern in this week of mixed emotions.

Sorry, for that intro. Our Wildcat of the Week does not deserve that kind of a lead in. Not in an offensive week like the one Northwestern’s baseball team had.

With many of the sports taking an early break for Reading Week, Stevens helped get the offense moving for the baseball team in a killer week at the plate. Northwestern defeated LIU Brooklyn 12-3, followed that up with an extra-inning 3-2 victory over North Dakota State and finished off the week in Florida with a 17-2 win over Bucknell.

Stevens hit 7 for 15 with four RBIs in the three games. Northwestern generally did not need the offense from its leadoff hitter. But when it did, the Cats got it. The shortstop drove in the winning run against North Dakota State in the 11th inning to secure the perfect week. Lots of fireworks on the diamond for the Wildcats as they prepare to enter Big Ten play against the Hawkeyes during spring break.

Honorable Mentions

Erin Fitzgerald, Lacrosse: Fitzgerald turned in the top individual scoring performance of the year, tallying six goals and recording an assist in a 16-3 win over Harvard. The three goals allowed were the lowest for Northwestern since May 2011. The Wildcats have slipped in the polls thanks to an early season loss, but a win like this is sure to get them back on track.

Jordan Wilimovsky and Chase Stephens, Men’s Swimming: It was announced earlier this week that this duo will represent Northwestern at the NCAA Men’s Swimming Championships coming up in late March. Wilimovsky clinched his spot with a school-record swim in the 1,650 free during the Big Ten Championships while Stephens posted a career-best 43.14 in the 100 free to get his ticket to Indianapolis.

Dayana Sarkisova, Fencing: The senior foilist (is that what you call them? Fencing afficionados help me out!) will lead a quartet of Wildcats heading off to the NCAA Fencing Championships later this week in San Antonio. It is Sarkisova’s fourth invitation to the NCAA Championships. She is hoping to join an elite group of fencers at NU by becoming the fourth fencer to earn All-American honors for the fourth time.

Lake The Posts Tournament Challenge

Lake The Posts is hosting a Tournament Bracket for our collective grief and entertainment. We have set up the official Lake The Posts Tournament Challenge. Go ahead and fill in your brackets on ESPN.com and then search for  the group LTP Tourney Pool. The password is: gatorbowlchamps. The winner gets our eternal respect and glory for a year.

I was going to name the group LTP Pool: Carmody’s Revenge . . . but it didn’t fit. Make creative bracket names — mine is NOT NORTHWESTERN STATE since I have to deal with confused Gators fans for the next four days — or don’t. Just a distraction during the tournament. Good luck!