Northwestern University Athletics
What A Spring It's Been at Northwestern!
5/14/2000 12:00:00 AM | General
May 14, 2000
EVANSTON, Ill. - Can anyone remember a better spring for Northwestern athletics? You would be hard-pressed. So far, five of the six Wildcat teams competing this season have gained NCAA Tournament berths, with another still having a chance to get there through Big Ten Tournament play. Here's a quick rundown of what's been going on in Evanston these last few weeks:
Women's Tennis
The Wildcats will be among the final 16 teams playing for the NCAA Team Championship in Malibu, Calif., from May 18-22. This past weekend, NU defeated Oral Roberts and Tulsa by matching 5-0 scores in the first two rounds of the NCAA Championships. On April 30, the Wildcats won their second consecutive Big Ten title with a 4-3 win over Minnesota.
Women's Golf
The Wildcats qualified for the NCAA National Women's Golf Championships for the first time in its eight-year history over the weekend, finishing second at the NCAA East Regional in Columbus, Ohio. Northwestern tied Purdue for second, just three strokes behind team champion Duke. The NCAA National Championships will be held at the Crosswater Golf Course, Sunriver Resort, in Sunriver, Ore. from May 24-27.
Softball
The Wildcats are in the 48-team NCAA Championship for the first time since 1987, putting together a solid 28-24 regular-season record including a 2-2 mark at the Big Ten Tournament. In a wild turn of events, the Wildcats were in the hunt for the Big Ten regular-season title until the season's final day before settling for fourth place. Northwestern can boast the 2000 Big Ten Player of the Year, Brooke Siebel -- the first Wildcat to earn the honor since Lisa Ishikawa in 1985 -- and a 4-1 win over the top-ranked team in the nation, Washington. Northwestern will begin NCAA Championship play Thursday against Oregon State in Norman, Okla.
Men's Tennis
The Wildcats earned a spot in the NCAA Championship before falling to the top-ranked team in the country, Stanford, on Saturday. Northwestern went 1-1 at the Big Ten Championships the weekend before that, and Brad Erickson was named first team All-Big Ten.
Men's Golf
A favorite already for the national championship this year, the Wildcats must first officially qualify this weekend at the NCAA Central Regional tournament in Victoria, Texas. Two weekends ago, the men rolled to its second straight Big Ten title, downing second-place Purdue by 33 strokes. Junior Luke Donald received his second Big Ten Player of the Year Award after defeating teammate Jess Daley by one stroke for the individual title, while senior Josh Habig tied for third and sophomore Chris Thayer finished seventh. Donald and Daley are currently ranked first and third, respectively, in the Mastercard National Rankings.
Baseball
The Wildcats clinched their first berth into the Big Ten Baseball Tournament since 1995 on Saturday, when sophomore Matt Thompson and senior Jason Anderson hit back-to-back, pinch-hit home runs to give NU a 12-11 win over Penn State. Northwestern's 30 wins are the third-best during the 13-year tenure of head coach Paul Stevens, and this will be the Wildcats' third visit to the postseason in that time. Northwestern will begin Big Ten Tournament play Wednesday night against Minnesota in Minneapolis.
