Watching the Norse: Athletics recap and review

Jakob Staley, Sports Editor

February 2, 2026

Freshman Haley Slay (left) and Junior Catharina Cardoso (right) high-fiving after a point. They got their first doubles win of the season, defeating Thomas More 6-4.

Previous week recap:

Friday, Jan. 30

Men’s and women’s track and field competed in the Lenny Lyles Invitational Friday and Saturday, with many of the Norse setting new personal records and season bests.

Women’s side:

Grace Biddle set a new Norse indoor record in the mile, running a 5:00.70 and placing 26th overall. Meredith Goff ran a 24.63 in the 200m run, placing fifth in her division. She also ran a 7.70 in the 60m run, placing 23rd overall. Olivia Kennedy ran a 2:14.29 in the 800m, placing 8th. Cameron Bitterman placed 12th in the 400m A division, running a 57.29. Maggie Foust finished in 17:33.61 in the 500m run, finishing in 6th. Sophomore Brittany Arnold ran a 17:47.52, placing 13th and setting a new indoor personal best. Olivia Wingo set a new Norse record in the pole vault, crossing 3.79m on her first attempt.

Men’s side:

Natnael Weldemichael smashed the Norse indoor 3000m record with a time of 8:03.85, a 12th-place finish at the meet. He now sits at the 80th-fastest time in the nation this year. Weldemichael also finished 32nd in the mile, running a personal-best 4:11.45. Colton O’Hara set a new personal best in the 3000m run, finishing in 8:25.78 and finishing 36th overall. Evan Senefeld broke his own freshman record in the pole vault, crossing 4.07m on his final attempt. NKU’s 4×400 relay squad of Jackson King, Alexander Prevatte, Brayden Holland and Branton Koroly set a new Norse record, as they finished in 3:20.47

Women’s tennis lost against Louisville 7-0.

Singles competition

Alice Otis (LOU) def. Darya Gneidina (NKU) 6-0, 6-1

Elena Noguero (LOU) def. Sydney Zakic (NKU) 6-4, 6-2

Germany Davis (LOU) def. Alyssa Cameron (NKU) 6-4, 6-3

Lika Peresypkina (LOU) def. Aaditi Bhat (NKU) 6-1, 6-0

Berta Miret (LOU) def. Haley Slay (NKU) 6-0, 6-0

Anshika Jaswal (LOU) def. Catharina Cardoso (NKU) 6-0, 6-2

Doubles competition

Alice Otis/Lika Peresypkina (LOU) def. Alyssa Cameron/Sydney Zakic (NKU) 6-2

Berta Miret/Elena Noguero (LOU) def. Aaditi Bhat/Catharina Cardoso (NKU) 6-2

Germany Davis/Lucia Gallegos (LOU) def. Cassia Adamowsky/Caroline Van Der Riet (NKU) 6-1

Men’s volleyball lost to its first-ever ranked opponent, Lincoln Memorial 3-1. Griffin Wheatley led the way for the Norse, putting up 12 kills and 12 digs. Will McElveen also had a good game, putting up eight kills, 16 assists and ten digs. He also led the team in assists. It was a rough game for the Norse as LMU led in every major statistical category.

Men’s basketball fell to Detroit Mercy 90-77. Donovan Oday had another 30 point outing with another loss. He finished with 33 points on 11-19 shooting and 5-11 shooting from deep, five rebounds and a pair of assists. Dan Gherezgher played solid, posting up 20 points on 7-14 shooting, while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out a team-high four assists. LJ Wells was the last Norse in double-figures with ten points, but finished with a season-low one rebound.

Saturday, Jan. 31

Women’s basketball lost at home against Cleveland State 69-61. Mya Meredith led the Norse with 17 points, shooting 7-11 from the field with three rebounds, three steals and two assists. Taysha Rushton had 16 points and three rebounds. Karina Byrstry had 15 points, five rebounds and four steals, but struggled to shoot the ball, going 5-22 from the field and 1-10 from three. Abby Wolterman had nine points and eight rebounds.

Women’s and men’s tennis took on Thomas More, with both of them getting their first wins of the season.

Men’s side 7-0 victory:

Singles competition

Emilio Bravo (NKU) def. Raphael Delente (TMU) 6-4, 7-5

Joao Pimenta (NKU) def. Sam Mimbrero (TMU) 6-3, 6-0

Jackson Poulos (NKU) def. Camille Le Guelle (TMU) 6-3, 6-3

Mateus Ranciaro (NKU) def. Magnus Hauska (TMU) 7-6, 6-2, 1-0 (7)

Dugan Fowler (NKU) def. Tammo Kreiser (TMU) 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (5)

Hector Salvador Civera (NKU) def. Reggie Bechtel (TMU) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles competition

Emilio Bravo/Jackson Poulos (NKU) def. Raphael Delente/Magnus Hauska (TMU) 6-4

Hector Salvador Civera/Joao Pimenta (NKU) def. Reggie Bechtel/Camille Le Guellec (TMU) 6-2

Mateus Ranciaro/Arnau Puig (NKU) def. Samuel Mimbrero Lendinez/Bernat Coll Ballester (TMU) 6-4

Women’s side 6-1 victory:

Singles competition

Ella Cason (TMU) def. Darya Gneidina (NKU) 6-3, 6-4

Alyssa Cameron (NKU) def. Bella Flores (TMU) 6-0, 6-3

Sydney Zakic (NKU) def. Hallie Lathram (TMU) 6-3, 6-1

Aaditi Bhat (NKU) def. Sadie Jones (TMU) 6-1, 6-3

Haley Slay (NKU) def. Nicki Bauer (TMU) 6-0, 6-0

Caroline Van Der Riet (NKU) def. Presley Grant (TMU) 6-0, 6-2

Doubles competition

Alyssa Cameron/Sydney Zakic (NKU) def. Bella Flores/Hallie Lathram (TMU) 6-1

Haley Slay/Catharina Cardoso (NKU) def. Ella Cason/Sadie Jones (TMU) 6-4

Didi Steenhuis/Cassia Adamowsky (NKU) def. Nicki Bauer/Lindsey Greb (TMU) 6-1

Sunday, Feb. 1

Stunt took on St. Mary’s (TX) and Mercyhurst. They lost to St. Mary’s 21-4.

Men’s basketball lost on the road to Oakland 76-65. Donovan Oday led four Norse in double figures with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. Tae Dozier had 14 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Kael Robinson put up 14 points with seven rebounds, knocking down four threes. Dan Gherezgher had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Sports this week:

Monday, Feb. 2

Women’s stunt takes on Tiffin (Ohio) at 1:30 p.m. and the University of Kentucky at 5 p.m. in Lexington, KY.

Tuesday, Feb. 3

Women’s basketball takes on Oakland at Truist Arena at 6 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 4

Men’s basketball takes on Green Bay at home at 7 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 5

Softball will compete in the Stinger Classic in Montgomery, Ala., against Alabama State at 5 p.m.
Men’s volleyball will take on Ohio State at home at 7 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 6

Men’s tennis will take on Kentucky.
Softball will compete in the Stinger Classic in Montgomery, Ala., against Murray State at 3:45 p.m.
Men’s volleyball will compete against Purdue Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne, Ind. at 7 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 7

Men’s and women’s track and field will compete in the Marshall Invitational in Huntington, W.V, at 10 a.m.
Softball will compete in the Stinger Classic against Lindenwood at 11:15 a.m.
Men’s basketball will take on Milwaukee at home at 5 p.m.
Men’s volleyball will face off against Daemen (N.Y.) in Fort Wayne, Ind. at 6 p.m.
Softball will compete in the Stinger Classic against Southern Indiana at 6 p.m.

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