Wildcats rule, opponents drool
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    Junior Shannon Smith was awarded 2011 ALC Championship MVP on Saturday. Photo by Natalie Krebs / North by Northwestern

    Northwestern women’s golf, lacrosse, softball and tennis made their mothers proud with great results this week. Baseball, not so much. North by Northwestern recaps all the action from this past week.

    Lacrosse

    Northwestern captured its seventh consecutive American Lacrosse Conference championship this weekend. After a dominating 14-3 win over conference foe No. 17 Penn State Friday evening, the Wildcats beat No. 4 Florida 10-9 in a comeback win to secure the championship Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, the Wildcats were awarded the No. 2 seed in this year’s NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship tournament. Northwestern will open the tournament at home Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m., where the Wildcats will face former assistant coach Acacia Walker and Boston College, where Walker is now an associate head coach. It’s the first matchup between these two schools since the Northwestern lacrosse team regained varsity status in 2002.

    Women’s Golf

    Northwestern waited out a two-hour lightning delay on Saturday before finishing 10th in this year’s NCAA Women’s Golf Central Regionals in South Bend, Ind. The team ended the tournament with a combined score of 50-over-914, five strokes from qualifying for this year’s NCAA championships. Despite not extending their postseason play, this was the best finish for the Wildcats since 2006. Senior Alex Lederhausen and junior Rebecca Lederhausen both shot a team-best two birdies and six bogeys. The tournament marked the end of this year’s season, which included honors such as sophomore Lauren Weaver’s first-team Big Ten honors and Big Ten Co-Coach of the Year for head coach Emily Fletcher.

    Softball

    The Wildcats had a rough week on the softball diamond, extending their losing streak to five, with three losses occurring at home against Minnesota and Indiana. Northwestern finished the week on a high note, though, closing out their regular season home schedule with a big win over Indiana on Sunday, beating the Hoosiers 4-1. This win coincided with Northwestern’s Senior Day, thanks to freshman second baseman Marisa Bast’s grand slam in the fifth inning. Seniors Michelle Batts (designated player), Kelly Quinn (right field), Robin Thompson (third baseman), Jessica Smith (pitcher) and Jordan Wheeler (left field) were honored before the game. The Wildcats look to carry this momentum into the final weekend of the regular season on the road against Penn State.

    Baseball

    While the softball team found success at home against Indiana this weekend, the baseball team had mixed results on the road in Bloomington, finishing their weekend 1-2, with the lone win occurring Saturday. The Wildcats were shut out 5-0 in Friday’s series opener, but came back with a 9-6 win on Saturday. Northwestern gave up five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on Sunday to the Hoosiers, who finished with an 8-2 win. The Wildcats look to return to their winning ways this week at home where they’ll face UIC and Chicago before playing a weekend series against Michigan.

    Women’s Tennis

    The Wildcats were rewarded for their strong season finish by earning the No. 16 seed for this year’s NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship tournament. The team will open play up at home this Friday against Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Home court advantage will benefit the Wildcats, who have won their first round game in 10 of the last 11 seasons. If Northwestern advances again this year, the women’s tennis team will face the winner of the Notre Dame-Fresno State match up Saturday at noon.

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