Northwest Missouri State University senior Polina Gontaryk captured the ITA Central Regional women's tennis singles title as she knocked off top-seeded Mei Hasewega of Central Oklahoma in three sets. Gontaryk came from a set down in the final to take down Hasegawa to capture the championship. Hasegawa won the first set, 6-3. Gontaryk stormed back and won the second set, 7-5. Gontaryk and Hasegawa went the distance in the third set and had to decide it with a tiebreaker. Gontaryk won the tiebreaker, 8-6. Gontaryk will compete in the ITA Cup set for Nov. 4-8 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. bearcatsports.com/news/2026/… #OABAAB

SOC RECAP ||| NORTHWEST 5, ROGERS STATE 2 The @NWBearcatsoc team tied a program record with five first-half goals as the Bearcats rolled to a 5-2 MIAA win over the Rogers State Hillcats Sunday at home. Northwest has won three matches in a row and is 4-1-2 in its last seven matches to move into fifth place in the MIAA standings. Northwest is 5-8-3 overall and 5-4-2 in MIAA play. Rogers State is 5-8-3 overall and 3-7-1 in league matches. Northwest's five first-half goals tied the program record for most in history. Lydia McVey tied the single-game school record with three assists in the win over the Hillcats. McVey tied a mark set by Jordan Albright vs. Emporia State on Oct. 11, 2013. bearcatsports.com/news/2026/… #OABAAB

The @NWBearcat_FB team shifted to No. 6 in the second installation of the NCAA Division II NPI Super Region 4 Rankings. Northwest (6-1 overall, 5-1 MIAA) is among four MIAA teams in the top-10 in the region. Emporia State is No. 2, Northwest is No. 6, Central Missouri is No. 8 and Washburn is No. 10. The NPI rankings will determine playoff selection. The top eight teams will earn selection into the 2026 NCAA Div. II Playoffs. Conference champions from the MIAA, GAC, Lone Star and RMAC will receive automatic bids. The final four slots will be determined by the NPI. Northwest and Emporia State (8-0 overall, 6-0 MIAA) will collide Saturday at 2 p.m. at Bearcat Stadium in Maryville, Mo. bearcatsports.com/news/2026/… #OABAAB

VB RECAP ||| NORTHWEST 3, FORT HAYS STATE 0 The @NWBearcatVB team took the Fort Hays State Tigers to the woodshed in a 3-0 sweep at Bearcat Arena. The Bearcats made only five attack errors and hit a season-best .354 as a squad with three players reaching double-figure kill totals. Gabrielle Gartner led the way with 12 kills (.379). Sophia Gartner had 11 kills (.280) and Abby Bulthuis powered down 10 kills (.357). Chloee Hayes landed nine kills and hit .643 in the three-game sweep. Eva Plassmeyer posted seven total blocks with six kills while hitting .600. Northwest won by set scores of 25-15, 25-14 and 25-17. Northwest moved its MIAA record to 4-3 and 7-10 overall. FHSU dropped to 14-8 overall and 3-5 in league matches. The five attack errors rank as the third-lowest total in a match in program history. Northwest had four errors in a pair of matches in 2021 vs. Central Oklahoma and Purdue-Northwest. bearcatsports.com/news/2026/… #OABAAB

The @nwbearcatwbb team has been selected to finish fourth by the MIAA coaches in the league's annual preseason poll. Head coach Austin Meyer is entering his ninth season at the helm of the Bearcat program. Meyer and the Bearcats have produced 15 or more wins in each of the last five seasons. Northwest finished fifth last season in the final MIAA standings. Northwest returns 94.7% of its scoring from a season ago, led by double-digit scorers Bailey Birmingham (12.2 ppg) and Andrea Lopreato (10.4 ppg). Sadie Maas returns as the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year. Maas led the Bearcats in rebounding (8.4 rpg) and blocked shots (73). Northwest will play a home exhibition game Oct. 27 vs. Doane at 6 p.m. The Bearcats regular season opener is at home Nov. 9 against the Lincoln Blue Tigers at 5:30 p.m. bearcatsports.com/news/2026/… #OABAAB