Amonte Hiller helps U.S. romp in 4th straight World Cup win
She can’t play for her Northwestern lacrosse team on the field, but that doesn’t mean Kelly Amonte Hiller has forgotten how to compete.
The head coach of the Wildcats as they enter their first season with varsity status since 1992 headed across the pond to England last week to compete in the 2001 Women’s World Cup on the United States squad.
The Americans entered the tournament as a heavy favorite – three straight titles heading in made them an obvious choice. And Amonte Hiller did nothing to hurt her nation’s team, playing a key role in the United States’ fourth consecutive World Cup title, which was wrapped up with a 14-8 win over Australia on Saturday. The Americans also beat Wales, England, Canada, Germany and the Aussies on one other occasion.
The U.S. team had to play six games to claim the championship – three in pool play and three in the medal rounds. The Americans outscored their opponents 92-21 in winning all six. Amonte Hiller, a two-time national player of the year when she competed in college for Maryland, contributed to nearly a third of the team’s tallies, racking up 13 goals and 15 assists.
The 2001 World Cup was Amonte Hiller’s second. She also participated in the 1997 tournament, which featured another U.S. victory over Australia for the title.
Donald unable to play his way into third straight British Open
Luck was not with Luke Donald in his native country this week. The greatest golfer in NU history failed to qualify for the British Open, a tournament in which he had participated the previous two years.
Donald played in the Fairhaven qualifier, carding a 145 over two rounds. Only eight players made it to the Open field from Fairhaven, and the highest qualifying score was 139. Jean Hugo won the qualifier with a 135. In total, 384 players attempted to make one of the world’s most prestigious golf tournaments via qualifiers, with just 33 making it into the field.
Donald won the individual NCAA Championship in his sophomore year at NU, and finished in the top 10 his junior year. An injury in the NCAA Regionals this spring caused Donald’s play to suffer and was a major reason the Cats failed to make it to the NCAA championships again.
