Fresh off its victory at the Big Ten championships, the Northwestern women’s tennis team gathered Wednesday at McGaw Hall to watch the seeding announcement for its next challenge: the NCAA Championships.
As ESPNews teased to the story and went to a commercial break, the NU players waited anxiously to find out where, and who, they would be playing in the tournament’s opening rounds.
Then the room hushed as the announcement came from the ESPN anchor.
“David Beckham has decided to remain with Manchester United.”
While the rest of the room groaned with displeasure as ESPN again went to commercial, Cambridge, England, native Ruth Barnes breathed a sigh of relief as the announcement ended speculation that the English midfielder would jump to European soccer rival Real Madrid.
“OK, I can go now,” Barnes joked. “That’s all I need to know.”
As the other players laughed, ESPN returned from break and revealed that the Wildcats (19-8, 8-2 Big Ten) did not receive a top-16 seed, but will host the regional portion of the 64-team NCAA Championships in Evanston.
The Cats clinched a berth Sunday by winning the conference tournament.
NU, one of 16 teams selected to host a regional tournament, will host No. 9 Virginia Commonwealth, No. 45 Kansas State and unranked Illinois State for matches held May 9-11.
Virginia Commonwealth is the only seeded team in the group at No. 12. Seeds are awarded only to the top team in each region.
The Cats will first square off against Kansas State in the single-elimination tournament on May 9.
NU coach Claire Pollard said she was disappointed the Cats were not one of the 16 teams awarded seeds, despite her team’s No. 16 national ranking.
“I’m disappointed we’re not a top (regional) seed,” Pollard said. “But honestly I didn’t think we were deserving. Because we’re in with a No. 12 seed (Virginia Commonwealth) it means we were seeded somewhere between 17-20. I think that’s very fair.”
Although the Cats are not the highest seed in the four-team group, Pollard said playing at home will give her team an emotional boost.
“It will be a big advantage to have a crowd roaring in our favor,” Pollard said.
Winners of the regional group will advance to the round of 16, hosted this year by Florida in Gainesville.
Last year, the Cats advanced through the regionals but fell to No. 1 seed Florida in the third round.
Pollard said she was optimistic about her team’s chances in this year’s tournament, despite being in the same group as Virginia Commonwealth, who at 23-0, is the only undefeated team in the country.
“It’s advantageous for us to play (Virginia Commonwealth) because we have played so many tough matches,” Pollard said. “They haven’t because they aren’t in a tough league.”
Before thinking about Virginia Commonwealth, NU must get by Kansas State. Pollard said she had no immediate thoughts on the opening match, other than her expectation that the contest between the two teams would be an exciting one.
“All I know is that they play in purple too, so there will be a lot of purple out there next week,” Pollard said.
