As Northwestern knows, this coach a keeper
Call it the no-brainer sports move of the week.
Northwestern extended the contract of one the most successful coaches in the Big Ten, and in the nation for that matter. In any sport.
Lacrosse coach Kelly Amonte Hiller got a five-year extension that coordinates perfectly with the five straight NCAA national championships the Wildcats have won.
That's right, five straight national championships. And don't put a sixth one past NU. The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 1 with an 11-0 record heading into their games this weekend.
Not a bad resume for a coach who faced some significant challenges when she first arrived in Evanston in 2002. At that time, lacrosse wasn't even a varsity sport at Northwestern.
"There is no doubt as to the impact Kelly has had on the sport of women's lacrosse and the impact that success has had on the university," Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips said. "She has established herself as one of the top coaches in the sport's history."
Amonte Hiller, now in her ninth season at Northwestern, has compiled a 145-24 record with an .858 winning percentage that is tops among active Division I coaches.
Over the course of the championship run, which started with the first title in 2005, she has guided the Wildcats to a 117-3 mark. Northwestern's 21-1 record and .955 winning percentage in the NCAA tournament since 2002 ranks No. 1 all-time in the sport's history.
"Northwestern University is where I want to coach," said Amonte Hiller, who was an all-American at Maryland, the other powerhouse in women's lacrosse. "I will continue to work tirelessly to mentor our young women and to put them in a position to succeed on and off the field."
Wildcat watch: Amonte Hiller and the Wildcats can't rest on their laurels. At least not this weekend. Northwestern will host second-ranked North Carolina at Lakeside Field Sunday afternoon. The game against the Tar Heels will be a rematch of the 2009 NCAA national championship game.
The Big Ten Network is making the game its first live lacrosse broadcast ever. Opening draw is 12:05 p.m.
More purple power: Northwestern's tennis players are keeping up pretty well with the lacrosse team. Currently ranked No. 9 in the nation, the Wildcats are 14-6 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten.
On Sunday in Evanston before a match against Minnesota, Northwestern will celebrate Senior Day by saying thank you to seniors Lauren Lui and Samantha Murray, who have been key contributors to three Big Ten Championships, two ITA National Indoor Team Championships and two teams that finished ranked No. 2 in the nation.
More tennis: The DePaul tennis team is ranked No. 22 in the country with a 15-3 record. Both Selma Salkovic and Katarina Milinkovic have each won more than 20 matches and Salkovic has won her last seven- Meanwhile, Illinois jumped 10 spots to No. 26, its best ranking of the season. On Tuesday, No. 1 singles player Megan Fudge was named the Big Ten's athlete of the week for the fifth time in her career-. The UIC tennis team is 16-3 and Mariya Kovaleva has won 13 straight matches.
Softball stars: With a 29-5 record, the Illinois softball team is off to its best start in program history.
Led by Hope Howell, who is batting .416, and pitcher Pepper Gay, who is 10-1 with a 1.95 earned run average, the Illini are ranked No. 20 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
pbabcock@dailyherald.com