June 5, 2006

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Northwestern's first-ever appearance in the Women's College World Series championship begins tonight, June 5, with Game One's first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on ESPN2 and NU student radio WNUR 89.3 FM.

"The Battle of the Wildcats" features No. 4 seed Northwestern against No. 2 seed Arizona. Game Two is at 7 p.m. CT Tuesday night with the 'if necessary' game in the best two-of-three series to be held at 7 p.m. CT Wednesday night. All three contests will be live on ESPN2 and WNUR.

The Evanston, Ill., 'Cats are the lone unbeaten team left in Oklahoma City, streaking through their side of the bracket with a 3-0 mark.

In the WCWS opening round, Northwestern thrilled softball fans around the country with a dramatic, back-and-forth 10-inning win against No. 5 seed Alabama. Trailing by one in the bottom of the seventh, freshmen Erin Dyer (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) launched a two-out, two-strike offering over the fence in center to tie the game for NU before the Wildcats eventually won in the 10th, 6-5.

In the winner's bracket matchup against No. 8 Tennessee on Friday, junior Eileen Canney (Paradise, Calif./Paradise) turned in the most impressive pitching performance of the 2006 WCWS, holding the nation's best offense to just a single hit -- the first time the Lady Vols had been held under four all season -- in a 2-0 NU win.

On "Elimination Saturday," Northwestern did not have a game. Four teams were sent packing from the field, setting the stage for an NU vs. No. 1 UCLA showdown on "Separation Sunday."

After the Bruins tied the game, 1-1, with a two-out, two-strike bottom of the seventh RBI single, freshman Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Ill./Osceola) and junior Garland Cooper (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) launched back-to-back jacks to lead off the eighth and send Northwestern to the title series, 3-1. The Wildcats escorted the Bruins out of the field before the final two for the first time since 2002.

Before the final out of the NU vs. UCLA game, nearly every single one of the 5,641 people in attendance at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium rose to cheer on the team in purple.

Northwestern and Arizona met in NU's second game of the season, with Arizona taking an 8-0 victory in the contest played in Tempe, Ariz. Now, 61 games later, the pair of Wildcats meet again for the national championship.

Northwestern's spring sports have been through an amazing stretch in 2006. On May 28, women's lacrosse won its second-consecutive NCAA title. One day later, women's tennis' Cristelle Grier and Alexis Prousis brought home the NCAA Division I doubles title.

The team's have been supporting each other's runs, too. Prousis' first item of business after returning to Evanston following their title was to visit softball hours before the flight to Oklahoma City.

As the story goes, in the seventh inning of the Alabama game with Northwestern behind, women's lacrosse retrieved their championship trophy and placed it in front of the TV for luck. Dyer's home run soon followed.

Spring has not just been successful for the women either. Men's golf competed in the NCAA Championships last weekend in Oregon. When not on the course, the men gathered around the television to cheer on the softball squad.

The baseball team this spring set a program record for wins in the Big Ten and led the conference all the way up to the final weekend. Several members of the team joined a watch party of fans and staff to catch the women's lacrosse title game on May 28, and there have been no bigger supporters of softball's run to the sport's final weekend. They even have representation in Oklahoma City.

Every single spring sport either advanced to NCAA play or won a contest in their respective postseason tournaments. Overall at Northwestern, 11 of the 19 teams earned NCAA postseason berths in 2005-06. The Wildcats are close to matching last year's finish in the Director's Cup -- which was the highest in NU history.

Tonight begins the final athletic action for Northwestern in the 2005-06 season. And fittingly, the Wildcats are playing for a championship.

Start Wearing Purple, indeed.