Northwestern University Athletics
No. 17 Northwestern Begins Spring Break in Aloha Fashion
3/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 15, 2006
Northwestern's Bank of Hawaii Invitational Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Winter quarter now is over. The finals have been taken, the papers have been written, but instead of finding someplace warm to simply unwind, Northwestern has had two weeks off and enters the Bank of Hawaii Invitational this weekend with nothing but softball on its mind.
In the first leg of their nine-game Spring Break trip, the Wildcats are headed to Honolulu for the third time in five years, this time facing Kansas, Longwood, San Diego State, Oklahoma State and the host Wahine.
In its last two appearances in the Hawaii Invitational, Northwestern has amassed a 5-3 record, including a 2-1 mark against the University of Hawaii.
NU fifth-year head coach Kate Drohan enters this weekend four wins short of reaching 150 for her career. Drohan has averaged 34 wins per year in her first four years as the head coach of the Wildcats. Incidentally, the Northwestern program is just four wins shy of reaching 800 in its history.
Following the Bank of Hawaii Invitational, the Wildcats will head back to the mainland for four games in Southern California, facing Cal State Fullerton in a March 23 doubleheader before single games at Long Beach State (March 25) and at No. 3 UCLA (March 26).
The last time Northwestern took the dirt, at the Worth Invitational in Fullerton, Calif., freshman shortstop Tammy Williams (El Dorado Springs, Mo./Osceola) exploded with eight runs, three RBIs, two homers and a .643 batting average in four games to be crowned Big Ten Player of the Week. She currently leads the team with a .392 batting average.
Two years ago in Hawaii, junior Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) hit two home runs during the tournament--including a two-run shot against Japanese university Nittaidai in an exhibition.
Due to internet limitations at the Hawaii field, it is not anticipated Gametracker will be available for the Hawaii Invitational games, but keep an eye on the softball schedule page at NUSports.com in case it becomes available.
