Northwestern went from success to success to, well, success this weekend. After the Wildcats successfully trumped No. 5 North Carolina and No. 8 Johns Hopkins, the members of last year’s national championship team at last received their rings.
As fans, friends, family and freshmen looked on, NU athletic director Mark Murphy presented Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller and her squad with the spoils of their 2005 NCAA title.
“I mean, I was little bit sad, because now it’s ended; it’s finally over,” said Kate Darmody, who started in the championship game for NU. “But I think I was just kind of like, ‘Wow, I’m so lucky to have been a part of this.’ I mean, it was just a good way to end it.”
The 2005 Cats defeated Virginia 13-10 to win NU’s first team championship since 1941. The victory, which completed a 21-0 season for NU, also marked the first NCAA lacrosse championship at any level, men’s or women’s, for a school outside of the Eastern Time zone.
After a White House flip-flop fiasco and a year’s worth of accolades, many of the Cats seemed ready to move on. But some players still tried to embrace the final celebration of their perfect season.
“It was really fun,” junior Kristen Kjellman said. “It’s great to have the alumni back, and that year will forever be exciting to remember for all of us.”
A number of former players attended the ceremony. Those in the Evanston area remain involved in the program, attending early-season practices and staying in touch with their old teammates. Amonte Hiller even asked them to speak with the team after the recent loss to Duke about what it takes to be a champion.
Ashley Gersuk, who started in goal for the Cats last season, said most of the alumni are at this point more concerned with a 2006 national championship than celebrating accomplishments of 2005.
“Whenever we talk about it, whenever we get to celebrate it, we always think back to it,” Gersuk said. “But we’re just excited now for this team to go out there and get another one.”
For Amonte Hiller, the ceremony was a familiar setting. The 2005 consensus NCAA coach of the year won two national titles as a player with Maryland in the mid-90’s.
While she said that getting the ring as a coach felt even better than it did as a player, she found she was struggling to fully embrace the moment.
“It’s really hard to go back right now,” Amonte Hiller said, “because I’m so entrenched in what we’re doing now and so focused on that next championship that we could potentially win.”
If anyone was motivated by the ceremony, it was this year’s freshmen. Watching from the sidelines, freshman Hillary Bowen thought of a pre-game ritual meant to always remind the Cats what they’re playing for.
“It was awesome,” Bowen said. “We have a tape we watch before every game, that, you know, it shows the final countdown and winning the championship. And I know all the freshmen want it so badly.”
Reach Ben Larrison at [email protected].
