Northwestern University Athletics
Garland Cooper Named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week
5/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 3, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Freshman designated player Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) has been named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week. The honor is the first of her career.
Cooper recorded a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning to give Northwestern a 6-4 victory in the Wildcats' opening game with No. 6 Michigan Sunday. The home run was her eighth of the year, tying her for the team lead and the NU single-season record.
In game two against the Wolverines, Cooper went 2-for-2 and was twice walked intentionally. In a midweek game with Bradley, her two-run home run in the top of the seventh gave NU some much-needed insurance runs. For the week she hit .500, drove in six runs and scored two of her own. She posted a 1.167 slugging percentage and a .625 on-base percentage.
Cooper's .385 batting average and .701 slugging percentage on the year rank her second in the Big Ten. She leads the conference with a .510 on-base percentage and is tops on the team with 11 doubles and 36 RBIs for the season. She has also drawn five intentional walks.
The award is the sixth weekly conference honor for the Wildcats this season and the fourth in the last three weeks. Courtnay Foster (twice), Sheila McCorkle, Eileen Canney and Kristen Amegin have also earned Big Ten POW nods this year.
Northwestern returns to action at 3 p.m. Wednesday with a doubleheader at DePaul.
