May 17, 2004
Women's Lacrosse
This past week was an exciting time for our athletic program as we hosted two separate NCAA events. On Thursday afternoon, our women's lacrosse team hosted Notre Dame in a first-round NCAA game. A great crowd saw our team come from behind to beat Notre Dame for the second time this season, 10-8. The lacrosse team then traveled to Charlottesville, Va. to play the University of Virginia on Sunday. Virginia, ranked second in the country and participants in last year's national championship game (they lost in overtime to Princeton), has one of the best programs in the country. Our team gave Virginia all it could handle in losing 15-11 in a hard-fought battle.
It is really impressive that the team was able to advance this far in only its third year as a varsity sport. Head Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller has done a great job in building the program and was named the American Lacrosse Conference Coach of the Year for her efforts this year. Although it was disappointing to lose to Virginia, it was the kind of experience that should help the team next year. The future of the program is extremely bright as we return all but one player and bring in several talented recruits.
Women's Tennis
Our women's tennis team hosted NCAA regional competition on Saturday and Sunday. The other teams in the regional were UIC, Notre Dame and Iowa. We beat UIC 4-0 on Saturday and played Notre Dame on Sunday for the right to advance to the NCAA Round of 16 in Athens, Ga. Earlier this year, we had beaten Notre Dame 4-3 in an exciting match that went right down to the wire. On Sunday, we got off to a fast start in winning the doubles point in a tiebreaker, and used this momentum to win 4-1. This Thursday, the team plays Duke, a team that defeated us 5-2 earlier this season. Several matches were close, however, and we are playing our best tennis of the year, so a berth in the NCAA quarterfinals -- the school's first -- appears to be within reach.
In addition, Cristelle Grier is one of the favorites to win an NCAA Championship in both singles and doubles (with senior Jessica Rush -- they won the indoor national championship this fall) this year.
Other NCAA Play
Our softball team was rewarded for a strong season with an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. This is the second consecutive year the team has participated in the NCAA tournament. The team will play UC Santa Barbara in a regional hosted by No. 1-ranked Arizona on Thursday. First-year pitcher Eileen Canney was named Big Ten Rookie of the Year for her outstanding season (18-3 record), and gives us a good chance to advance in the tournament.
Congratulations are also in order to the women's golf team, which returned to the NCAA Regional Championships this year. Chris Regenberg's squad, which had three freshmen in the lineup, nearly earned the program's second national championship appearance, but came up eight strokes short of advancing. With no seniors in the Wildcat lineup, the future is bright for our women's golf team.
Although the men's golf team did not advance to the NCAA tournament (after seven consecutive appearances), senior Tom Johnson earned a spot as an individual. We are pleased that Tom will be able to participate in the NCAA Championships as a senior and wish him the best of luck.