The fall sports season has come and gone for the teams at NKU. Games were played and titles were won, starting with the play of the women’s soccer team.

The team entered the season with some question marks about whether this group of players could continue the tremendous success of the soccer program since its 1997 inception. The resounding answer to this question is yes.

Senior Kendra Zinser helped lead the Norse to a 17-3-4 record, a regular season conference championship and a fifth-straight trip to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Division II tournament.

Zinser led the team with 13 goals and Amy Law’s successful freshman season was rewarded with being named Great Lakes Valley Conference freshman of the year.

The women improved NKU’s overall record to an amazing 125-25-11 in the history of the program.

Zinser, Robyn Withers and Becky Schneiders were all named first-team All Conference. Coach Bob Sheehan was named conference co-coach of the year.

In volleyball, NKU fought through injuries and a sluggish early season to finish with a 26-12 record, the regular season conference title and a berth into the NCAA tournament.

Junior Kristin Koralewski was the second player in the history of the program to be named first-team NCAA Division II All-American.

The Norse graduated three very successful seniors – Cammi Welter, Nicole Salisbury and Sara Taylor – who will be very difficult to replace. NKU has had a 103-34 record in the four years these women have been a part of the program.

The women’s tennis team concluded an undefeated fall season by winning the GLVC tournament and securing a spot in the NCAA tournament next spring. Freshman Becky Dister went 8-0 in singles play and was named to the All-Conference team, and was also named the GLVC freshman of the year. Senior Elizabeth Brunsman joined Dister, also recieving All-Conference accolades, by finishing with an 8-2 record during singles play.

In golf the men and women’s teams both finished relatively successful fall seasons, with a strong spring expected for both teams. Kim Keyer-Scott won the GLVC championship as an individual, and the men’s team won its own invitational and performed well in the Fall Regional meet, putting them in good position to make a run at the NCAA tournament in the spring.

The men’s soccer team under new Head Coach John Basalyga struggled a bit, but made strides with a strong freshman class gaining much-needed experience on the field.

The cross-country season was highlighted by Tracy Inman capturing All-Conference honors, the first woman runner in school history to receive such an award.

The fall sports teams have set up the year for the rest of NKU athletics and the other seasons should be just as successful. With basketball starting up, things should just continue to get better. I guess we’ll see in January.