The 2008-09 athletic year at Northwestern University was one to be remembered. Filled with a plethora of memorable wins, honors and championships, there was much to be celebrated this past year in Evanston. Be sure to follow along at NUsports.com through August 10 as a look back is taken at just some of the numerous highlights the Wildcats experienced.

No. 1

We close out our recap of the top 15 moments during the 2008-09 Northwestern athletic season with not only the most dominant team in Evanston, but arguably the nation. The Wildcat lacrosse team closed out the 2009 year with a record-setting 21-7 victory over North Carolina in the NCAA championship game on May 24. It capped a perfect 23-0 season for head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller and her squad, joining the 2005 team as the second undefeated team in program history.

Starting with a 24-6 rout of Denver in San Diego on Jan. 23, the 2009 campaign was filled with a number of memorable games, plays and performances. Hannah Nielsen dished out 10 assists against Duquesne on Feb. 17, setting a new NCAA single-game record. With Amonte Hiller absent following the passing of her father, the Wildcats hammered 11th-ranked Notre Dame 21-5 in South Bend on Feb. 20 after dedicating the season to Lewis Amonte. Tied at 10 late in the game at 10th-ranked Virginia, Nielsen netted the game-winning goal with 1:31 remaining to keep the undefeated season intact. And Northwestern held off both third-ranked Penn and severe weather conditions to take an 11-9 victory in the regular season finale at Lakeside Field on April 25.

But the Wildcats saved the best moments for last. Trailing Penn 12-11 with time running out in the first overtime period in the NCAA semifinals, Katrina Dowd flipped a miracle shot over her shoulder while falling to the turf, which somehow slipped between the pipes with 0.2 seconds remaining, knotting the game at 12. Meredith Frank then finished off the Quakers, netting the game winner with 1:31 left in the second overtime to give the 'Cats the 13-12 victory. Then in the national championship game, Hilary Bowen, who only six weeks earier had torn her ACL, returned to net a game-high five goals against the Tar Heels.

As a team, the Wildcats set NCAA single-season records for points (570) and goals (407), while also leading the nation in draw controls (16.9 per game). Individually, Nielsen became the NCAA's single-game (10), single-season (83) and career assist leader (224) while surpassing Kristen Kjellman as the program's all-time point leader. 16 of the 'Cats 23 wins came against ranked opponents, and NU was a perfect 10-0 at home, extending their home winning streak to 54, an NCAA record.

It was a perfect ending to the careers of the 10 Wildcat seniors, who leave Evanston with an overall record of 85-3, four American Lacrosse Conference titles and four NCAA national titles. Nielsen, Bowen and Frank all finish their careers ranked among the all-time Wildcat point leaders, while Morgan Lathrop finishes as the top goalkeeper in program history.

No. 2

Northwestern's No. 2 most memorable story of 2008-09 came courtesy of one of the most dominant performers in any sport that the school has ever produced. Jake Herbert returned for his senior season on the wrestling mat and managed to win a third Big Ten title, second NCAA championship, college wrestling's Hodge Trophy and the Jesse Owens Award as Big Ten male athlete of the year.

After missing the 2007-08 campaign during his attempt to qualify for the Beijing Summer Olympics, Herbert rejoined Northwestern an even more polished and focused wrestler than the one that posted an undefeated season as a junior in 2006-07. Herbert marched through his senior season with a perfect 34-0 record--ending his career on a 66-match winning streak--and defeated the 2008 184-pound national champion, Mike Pucillo of Ohio State, in the 2009 NCAA finals.

Herbert's dominant, attacking style of wrestling was apparent to all who watched him and made him the easy choice as the recipient of the Hodge Trophy, college wrestling's equivalent of football's Heisman Trophy. He also cemented his place in Big Ten Conference lore by being named the league's male athlete of the year, joining former NU golfer Luke Donald (1999) as the only male Wildcats to win the award.

Herbert--who left NU with a 149-4 career record and a school-record .973 winning percentage--has continued to prove himself on the mat since graduating from Northwestern, winning a U.S. Freestyle championship and a spot on the USA World Team that will compete at the World Championships in Denmark this September.

Coupled with Dustin Fox's heavyweight championship in 2008, Herbert's two titles leave NU as the only school in the nation to win an NCAA individual championship each of the last three seasons.

No. 3

Few people likely gave the Northwestern men's basketball team much of a chance when it headed to East Lansing, Mich., to take on Michigan State Jan. 21. Besides, the Spartans were the preseason pick by many to win the Big Ten and entered the contest 15-2 overall and a perfect 5-0 in conference play. Meanwhile, the Wildcats had stumbled out to a 1-4 Big Ten start following a challenging opening portion of the season.

Despite falling by 11 to MSU at home 18 days earlier, Northwestern was coming off an impressive nine-point win over No. 18 Minnesota. Behind a red-hot night from junior Kevin Coble and some clutch shooting late by sophomore Michael Thompson and senior Craig Moore, the Wildcats stunned the Breslin Center crowd ending Michigan State's 28-game home winning streak by posting a 70-63 win.

Coble scored 19 of his Big Ten season-high 31 points in the first half and Thompson and Moore each hit two huge 3-pointers in the closing minutes to help NU post wins over ranked opponents in consecutive games for the first time in school history.

Michigan State, which went on to advance to the national championship game, was forced into 18 turnovers by the Wildcats' defense and had its 80-game home win streak against unranked opponents snapped. The victory was Northwestern's first over a top-10 foe on the road since the 1952-53 season.

The landmark performance was deemed the "Game of the Year" by the Big Ten Network, regardless of sport.

No. 4

Checking in at No. 4 on Northwestern's countdown of the 15 most memorable stories of 2008-09 is the women's tennis team's breakthrough victory at the ITA National Indoor Team Championship on Feb. 16. NU won four matches in four days against the nation's top teams to become the first northern school to win the title in the 22-year history of the event.

In addition to becoming the first program from the Big Ten to take the championship, Northwestern also added its name to a list of past winners that includes just five other schools (Florida, Stanford, Georgia, Duke and Georgia Tech).

Head coach Claire Pollard's squad entered the tournament at Wisconsin undefeated and as the top-seeded team among the 16 participating schools. After knocking off Miami (Fla.) in the opening round, NU found itself in a 3-3 tie against Duke in the quarterfinals with only the No. 5 singles match remaining on the courts. Senior Nazlie Ghazal was on the ropes in the third set against the Blue Devils' Melissa Mang, but Ghazal rallied to win seven of the last eight points to eke out the thrilling victory (6-4, 2-6, 7-5) and send the 'Cats into the semifinals.

Northwestern handled Notre Dame by a 4-1 count in the penultimate match before squaring off with sixth-ranked Georgia in the final. The doubles point came down to a tight match at No. 2, where Maria Mosolova and Keri Robison came back from down 7-6 to defeat Georgia's Monika Dancevic and Nadja Gilchrist in tiebreakers. That win gave NU the momentum it needed to secure three singles wins to wrap up the championship and remain unbeaten on the season.

No. 5

The Northwestern top-15 moments of 2008-09 countdown enters the top five today with the Wildcats' berth in the 2008 Valero Alamo Bowl. After achieving its third nine-win season since 1995, Northwestern accepted a bid to the contest played during the Monday Night Football time slot on ESPN.

Wildcat faithful and their purple colors were everywhere during the month of December, culminating in a thrilling overtime Alamo Bowl contest that was the No. 10-most watched bowl game in ESPN history. The bowl was NU's sixth since 1995 and the first in head coach Pat Fitzgerald's three-year tenure.

Relive the Alamo Bowl experience from the announcement to Northwestern's Bowl Media Day to the Riverwalk Pep Rally and Fan Fest, Wells Fargo Kickoff Luncheon and finally, the 16th Annual Valero Alamo Bowl.

No. 6

When it comes to the listing the greatest players in NCAA Division I women's lacrosse history, there are a handful of names that come to the top of the list. But after her remarkable four year career in Evanston, Hannah Nielsen's name has officially become a part of that list.

Entering the 2009 season, it would be hard to top what Nielsen had already accomplished during her time in Evanston. She had already been a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist twice, capturing the sport's most prestigious award in 2008, won the Lacrosse Honda Sports Award in 2008 and had three national championship rings.

But Nielsen set the tone early in the year for what would prove to be one of the best single-season performances in NCAA history. In the second game of the year against Duquesne, Nielsen dished out 10 assists, setting a new NCAA single-game record. But that was just the beginning. Entering the year needing just 37 helpers to become the Division I all-time assist leader, Nielsen accomplished the feat in the 11th game of the year, feeding Meredith Frank for a goal against fourth-ranked Duke on April 3 at Lakeside Field.

Nielsen would finish with 83 assists on the year, shattering her previous Division I single-season of 69 set in 2007. She became the first player to eclipse 200 assists in a career, finishing with 224. Nielsen capped her Northwestern career as the program's all-time points leader with 398 (174G, 224A), the third-highest total in NCAA history. And if that weren't enough, her 16 assists in the 2009 NCAA tournament and her 35 career NCAA tournament assists are also Division I records.

Her exploits on the field earned Nielsen a handful of individual accolades. She was named the Tewaaraton Trophy winner for the second-straight year, becoming just the second player in the award's history to capture the honor twice. Nielsen repeated as the Lacrosse Honda Sports Award winner and was named a finalist for the Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year in both 2008 and 2009. A three-time first-team All-American, she was named the Player of the Year by both the IWLCA and American Lacrosse Conference.

But for Nielsen, who was one of four Wildcat team captains, all that mattered was what happened on the field. The Northwestern senior class had joked coming in to the 2009 season that the only thing they hadn't done was go undefeated. Behind Nielsen's leadership, that final mission was accomplished as the Wildcats went 23-0 en route to their fifth-straight national championship. For Nielsen, who started all 88 games in an Northwestern uniform with an 85-3 overall record, it was the perfect ending to an incredible career.

No. 7

The turnaround that the Northwestern men's soccer program has experienced over the last decade is nothing short of remarkable. In 2000, the Wildcats posted a 0-17-1 record. By 2009, NU was making its second run to the NCAA quarterfinal round over a three-year span and was ranked No. 2 in the country for the majority of the regular season.

Northwestern raced out to an 11-0-2 mark through its first 13 matches, surrendering just three goals along the way while posting 10 shutouts. However, against a challenging Big Ten slate, the 'Cats dropped four of their last six matches to close out the regular season and the Big Ten tournament. As a result, NU wasn't rewarded with one of the top 16 seeds for the NCAA tourney. That didn't matter, though.

The Wildcats opened the postseason with a tough home match against Loyola Chicago. Regulation and two overtimes failed to produce a winner, but Northwestern was able to advance by defeating the Ramblers 4-1 in penalty kicks. The win set up a match at 12th-seeded Notre Dame. Trailing 1-0 in the second half, NU rallied back to stun the Fighting Irish behind a pair of goals by freshman Oliver Kupe, the first two tallies of his collegiate career.

Northwestern then returned home to Lakeside Field to face fifth-seeded Akron. Amid sleet and heavy winds along Lake Michigan, the 'Cats got a second-half goal by senior Geoff Fallon to make it within one win of the College Cup. Though NU fell just short by falling 1-0 at eventual national runner-up North Carolina, head coach Tim Lenahan's squad continued to establish itself as a national power in 2009.

No. 8

Northwestern Athletics' 2008-09 Top 15 Moments countdown hits No. 8 today with junior safety Brendan Smith's (Andover, Mass./New Hampton Prep (N.H.)) pick-six late in the Wildcats' 24-17 win at No. 20 Minnesota on Nov. 1.

With Northwestern and Minnesota tied at the HHH Metrodome and 26 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the Gophers threw downfield on a second down play from their own half of the gridiron. The ball ricocheted off the receiver and hit NU's David Oredugba before settling into the hands of Smith, who raced up the field behind a wall of blockers 48 yards for the game-winning score.

The play was nominated for that week's Pontiac Game Changing Performance award and helped Smith earn Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors. Also in that contest, junior quarterback Mike Kafka (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita) -- starting in place of an injured C.J. Bachér -- set a Big Ten quarterback rushing record with 217 yards.

The win moved NU to 7-2 on the season and 3-2 in the Big Ten. It was the "Cardiac 'Cats'" second dramatic triumph at the Metrodome in the last decade following the fabled "Victory Right" play in 2000.

To view a video of Smith's interception and subsequent score, check out this YouTube video of the play featuring the WGN Radio call submitted by user NUBears.

No. 9

Moment No. 9 in our countdown came courtesy of the men's basketball program. A close loss at Ohio State in the regular-season finale and a defeat to Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament dashed NU's ultimate hopes of an NCAA tournament bid, but the team was still rewarded with its first postseason berth in 10 years when it was selected to play in the National Invitation Tournament.

Northwestern received a tough draw, earning the No. 5 seed in its eight-team region, and was forced to go on the road to take on a talented Tulsa squad. Trailing by 11 with under eight minutes remaining, the 'Cats roared back to within three points. Kevin Coble and Craig Moore, who was playing in his final game in a Wildcat uniform, scored 17 points apiece, but NU came up just short, falling 68-59 to the Golden Hurricane in a spirited contest that went down to the final seconds.

"Tulsa is a very good team that knows how to win," Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody said. "This year we have had a lot of games that are very similar to this one - very close where we can't quite get over the hump. We have a lot of young guys on our team, so this is a good experience for them."

Northwestern (17-14, 8-10 Big Ten) took a huge step forward during a memorable 2008-09 season despite the loss. With 12 letterwinners, including four starters, returning for 2009-10, the Wildcats hope to take the next step of reaching the NCAA tourney.

No. 10

The No. 10 entry on our countdown of the top moments from 2008-09 at Northwestern is more a celebration of a career than it is of a singular accomplishment of feat. On June 8, 2009, longtime NU men's swimming coach Bob Groseth announced his upcoming retirement after a 20-year tenure in which he woke the Wildcats' program from decades of dormancy and led it to national prominence.

Groseth began his coaching duties at Northwestern in 1989, taking over a team that finished last in the Big Ten in each of the 11 seasons prior to his arrival. During his tenure Groseth built the Wildcats into a contender, finishing in the upper half of the conference in seven-consecutive years from 2001-07, including a third-place effort in 2004. Northwestern also had a five-year stretch from 2004-08 in which it was a top-12 team in the nation in each season, peaking with a modern era-best sixth-place finish in 2007.

Assistant coach Jarod Schroeder was named as the replacement for Groseth, who is becoming the interim Executive Director of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) on Sept. 1 of this year. Groseth began his involvement with the CSCAA several years ago, helping save collegiate swimming programs that were threatened with being dropped before later becoming more involved with the administration of the organization. He has served as the President Elect for the past two years.

"As a coach, my job was to push people outside of their `comfort zone.' As I approached my 20th year at Northwestern, I started to feel the need to get outside of my comfort zone," Groseth said. "My years here have been great and the school and administration have treated me well. I leave with even more respect for the institution than I had when I started 20 years ago. I have seen a transformation of the Athletic Department and Northwestern Men's Swimming from a perennial doormat to a perennial contender. I take pride in being part of that process and thank the many people who have helped make it happen."

No. 11

Moment No. 11 in our countdown came courtesy of Northwestern's men's golf program and specifically freshman Eric Chun (Ansung City, South Korea/International Christian School). On May 3, 2009, Chun became the first freshman since 1986 to win the Big Ten individual championship when he held off Penn State's Kevin Foley by one stroke on Foley's home Blue Course in University Park, Pa.

Chun was the only competitor in the entire field to finish under par, winning the tournament with a 72-hole total of 1-under 283. Chun made 15 pars and three bogies in his final round to fire a 3-over 74 and stay one shot better than the 28th-ranked Foley, who played his final nine holes in one under par.

In the last 10 years, NU has won eight team and individual Big Ten championships. Chun is the ninth different Wildcat to win the individual Big Ten title, and his crown is the 11th in school history. He finished his freshman season with three top-10's and three more top-20's, leading Northwestern to the 2009 NCAA National Championships.

No. 12

Head coach Arvid Swan brought with him a clear vision for the men's tennis program on his arrival to NU in 2007. After laying the program's groundwork during a first season in which the team posted a 7-17 mark, Swan saw his vision become reality in 2008-09 as NU finished 18-9 and reached the NCAA Championships, a turnaround deemed Northwestern's 12th-most memorable story of the year.

Perhaps the most notable aspect of the Wildcats' turnaround was their performance in conference action. After a winless Big Ten season in 2008, the 'Cats battled to a 6-4 league record this year--posting wins over NCAA Tournament qualifiers Wisconsin and Minnesota along the way--to earn the fifth seed in the 2009 Big Ten Tournament.

"Our guys accomplished a lot this year and I couldn't be prouder of them," Swan said. "With the senior leadership that we had and the contributions that class made to the program, I think we're moving in the right direction. That's been exhibited by the way the guys worked hard and practiced and competed well in matches throughout the season."

Northwestern's memorable campaign featured more than a handful of edge-of-your-seat dual matches that continually tested the 'Cats' fortitude. Between April 3 and April 12, Northwestern eked out four consecutive 4-3 wins against Big Ten opponents, including a Senior Day victory over Iowa that Alexander Thams clinched with a marathon three-set win over the Hawkeyes' Reinoud Haal.

Over the course of the season, Northwestern gave itself a legitimate chance to win nearly every match. Six of NU's seven regular-season losses came by a score of 4-3, including tight decisions on the road at traditional powers Notre Dame and Illinois as well as a heartbreaker at home against Michigan.

Swan shares his success with assistant coach Chris Drake, who after the year was named the ITA Midwest Regional Assistant Coach of the Year.

Swan and NU are poised to continue their rise to national prominence in 2009-10 with five returning dual starters and a recruiting class ranked No. 8 nationally by TennisRecruiting.net.

No. 13

Northwestern's countdown of its top 15 stories of the 2008-09 academic year continues Wednesday with No. 13, a story that has become an annual rite of spring in Evanston. Claire Pollard guided NU's women's tennis team to its 11th Big Ten championship in her 11th season as head coach, extending the 'Cats' dual-match winning streak against conference opponents to 77 in the process.

"I'm really proud of this group because it gets tougher every year with everyone making such a big deal about our streak," Pollard said after NU's tournament-clinching win over Michigan.

The attention is certainly valid considering the dominant and convincing fashion in which Northwestern--which finished the year with a 28-2 record--completed its undefeated Big Ten season. The Wildcats swept 11 of their 13 conference matches and won 67 of 69 completed league singles matches in 2009.

After wrapping up the league championship with a 7-0 shutout of Penn State on Senior Day, NU traveled to Madison, Wis., to vie for its 11th consecutive Big Ten Tournament title. After dismissing Minnesota and Ohio State in the opening rounds, the Wildcats squared off against Michigan in the final match for the fifth straight year. The Wolverines managed to steal a win at No. 3 doubles, but Georgia Rose and Lauren Lui closed out a tightly contested match at No. 1 to seal the doubles point.

Pollard's squad didn't look back after that as Keri Robison and Rose notched wins to set up the clinching victory by Maria Mosolova at No. 1 over Michigan's Chisako Sugiyama.

Northwestern's run of 11 consecutive league titles ranks as the second-longest championship streak in the history of any Big Ten women's sport. Next spring, NU has a chance to pull even in the record books with the 12 straight women's swimming and diving championships won by Michigan from 1987-98.

No. 14

In the sports of baseball and softball, no single play is more revered than the home run. Northwestern's softball team hit plenty in 2009, finishing second in the nation with 1.72 homers per game, but there were two in particular hit on April 4 during a home doubleheader against Indiana that made our 2008-09 top moments list at No. 14.

In the more than 25-year history of Sharon J. Drysdale Field (formerly Anderson Field) in Evanston, only one fair ball home run had ever landed on the roof of Welsh-Ryan Arena located beyond the left-field fence. That mammoth homer was hit by then-senior Jessica Miller on March 31, 2007, in a win over No. 10 Michigan.

Fast forward to the first game on April 4, 2009, when junior Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) crushed a Sara Olson offering deep to left and about three feet up the roof in the fourth inning to give Northwestern a 1-0 lead in an eventual 3-1 victory over the Hoosiers. Despite the blast being the first in two years to hit the roof and only the second ever, it would be only the first on that day.

In game two, senior Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) smashed a three-run homer in the second inning that was a little more toward left-center than Pauly's was earlier in the day, going directly over the covered staircase attached to the wall of Welsh-Ryan. It too landed on the roof to propel the Wildcats to an 8-0 (5) run-rule win in the game and a sweep in the double-dip. The game also marked the 300th-career win for both head coach Kate Drohan and her sister, associate head coach Caryl Drohan, since they took over the program in 2002.

No. 15

"You hit one home run, and it's a dream come true. But after you hit two, it's a fantasy."

That was how Northwestern senior Tony Vercelli described socking a pair of round-trippers as the Wildcats defeated Notre Dame 5-1 in a game played at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago April 15.

Presented with the rare opportunity of playing at a Major League ballpark, NU put together one of its best all-around games of the season behind Vercelli and the left arm of sophomore Eric Jokisch who hurled five shutout innings to earn the win.

With Northwestern leading 2-0 heading into the top of the seventh, Vercelli ripped a solo shot to stretch the lead to three. The Wildcats' advantage was 3-1 entering the top of the ninth when the Wilmington, Ill., native did it again, ripping a two-run shot that provided two huge insurance runs.

"I can't tell you how proud I am of this team," NU head coach Paul Stevens said. "They've battled all year and have faced a lot of adversity. Today that persistence paid off.

"I can't tell you how fortunate we feel for getting the opportunity to do this," Stevens said of playing at the home of the Chicago White Sox.