May 11, 2006
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After capturing its first Big Ten title since 1987, No. 11 Northwestern earned a clean sweep of the conference's postseason awards, the league office announced today. Junior Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) earned her second-consecutive Big Ten Player of the Year honor, while junior Eileen Canney (Paradise, Calif./Paradise) picked up Pitcher of the Year honors. Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) was named the conference Freshman of the Year and Kate Drohan picked up Coach of the Year honors.
Cooper led the Big Ten, hitting .471 (24-for-51) while racking up 17 runs, 15 RBI and nine doubles in league contests. She also tallied a league best .625 on-base percentage and a .980 slugging percentage, while ranking second in total bases (50). The junior first baseman becomes only the fourth player in league history to nab consecutive Player of the Year laurels, joining Michigan's Patti Benedict (1992-93), Sara Griffin (1995-96) and Traci Conrad (1998-99).
Canney became the first Wildcat hurler in school history to earn Pitcher of the Year laurels after finishing the regular season with a 20-5 record (Lisa Ishikawa was named Player of the Year in 1985, before there was a separate Pitcher of the Year award). She tallied a league-best 0.50 ERA, while allowing opponents to hit only .125 during the Big Ten season. The Paradise, Calif., native also ranked second in the conference with 134 strikeouts in 83.1 innings pitched.
Williams becomes the fifth Northwestern player to be named Freshman of the Year. She racked up a conference-best 20 runs scored and eight home runs in Big Ten play, while also ranking second in the league in RBIs (23) and slugging percentage (.791). Williams joins teammate Canney, who was honored as the top freshman in 2004, as well as former Wildcats' Brooke Siebel (1998), Chinazo Opia (1987) and Ndidi Opia (1986).
Junior outfielder Katie Logan (Tempe, Ariz./Corona del Sol) and senior catcher Jamie Dotson (Santa Ana, Calif./Foothill) join first baseman Cooper, Canney and shortstop Williams in earning first-team All-Big Ten honors. Logan and Canney both were unanimous selections.
Senior pitcher Courtnay Foster (Tucson, Ariz./Sahuaro) earned second-team All-Big Ten accolades.
Cooper's first-team honor is the third of her career, while Canney's is her third overall and first on the first team. Foster's nod is her second on the second-team and third overall. Dotson picked up second-team honors last season, and Logan and Williams are first-time All-Big Ten recipients.
Northwestern's five first-team selections set a program high.
Senior Sheila McCorkle (Costa Mesa, Calif./Mater Dei) was selected as Northwestern's Sportsmanship honoree for her on-the-field leadership and her off-the-field efforts in developing policies and programs to enhance the lives and experiences of Northwestern student-athletes.
To view the complete list of 2006 All-Big Ten honorees, link to bigten.org.