April 2, 2007

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Freshman Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) has been named the Big Ten's Player of the Week after batting .571 with 10 RBIs and a 1.143 slugging percentage during the opening weekend of conference play.

Pauly had two hits in each of Northwestern's four games over the weekend. She drove in two on Friday against No. 10 Michigan before rapping out two hits and scoring a run in the sixth inning of the Wildcats' 4-3 win over the Wolverines on Saturday.

Pauly then went off against Michigan State, driving in four runs in both ends of Sunday's doubleheader against the Spartans. She hit two home runs in the second game to notch her first-career multi-homer game.

Pauly's weekend extended her current hitting streak to 12 games, and propelled her to second on the team with 32 RBIs this year. She is NU's league-leading sixth Player or Pitcher of the Week selection in 2007.

Northwestern returns to action at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 3, against Northern Illinois at Sharon J. Drysdale Field.