Following Northwestern’s loss to Michigan on Friday, with the Wildcats’ tournament hopes appearing slim, senior Chris Ritter remained confident that he would play another game, saying, “We have some very good wins and we should be in the tournament.”
The selection committee agreed with the Big Ten defensive player of the year, and the ‘Cats (11-5-4) will be dancing as they were chosen for the 48-team NCAA Tournament field. They will be hosting the Summit League tournament champion Western Illinois Leathernecks (7-8-5) at Lakeside Field on Thursday, November 15.
It was a huge relief for the Wildcats, whose hopes appeared to be up in the air after the 3-0 defeat to the Wolverines. But with wins against Michigan, Big Ten tournament champion Michigan State, and especially NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed Notre Dame, they made a compelling case for selection.
“We were a little nervous. Our RPI was 41, but we had such quality wins,” Lenahan said. “I was just hoping that they would really consider the results that we had.”
They did, and when the announcement was made, the team erupted in celebration. With six seniors on the squad, they were definitely not ready for the end of the season.
“It was a long wait to see all those teams come up, just waiting to see our name,” said one of those seniors, defender Jarrett Baughman. “It’s a moment that, it sort of slides across, and when you see each letter pop up, that’s something that I’ll never forget.”
Now, they turn their attention to Western Illinois. They have not lost in their last six matches, and as conference tournament champions, they will be a tough opponent. Northwestern does have home field advantage, though nothing comes easy in the tournament. The winner plays No. 7 Marquette on Saturday, but in a win-or-go-home situation, the ‘Cats need to focus on Western Illinois and take it one game at a time.