The room erupted as if Justin Timberlake had walked in - screams, applause, cheers and chills. Underneath green T-shirts that read "1123," arm hairs were on end.
The MSU women's field hockey team received its bid for the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday and a bonus came with it - playing the first and second rounds on home turf.
Nov. 23, or "1123," is the date of the NCAA Field Hockey Championships in Amherst, Mass., and the team is expressing its desire to bring the title home.
"This year keeps getting better and better," senior midfielder Alexandra Kyser said. "We won the Big Ten Title, then the Big Ten Tournament. We have individual awards everywhere and now we have home-field advantage for the NCAA. It's an awesome feeling."
The Spartans secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament by defeating Penn State, 5-3, in the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday, claiming the Big Ten Tournament title for the second year in a row. The National Field Hockey Coaches Association ranked MSU fifth in the nation for the season's final poll on Nov. 11.
The Spartans (16-4 overall, 5-1 Big Ten) will face Louisville (13-9) on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the first round of the tournament. MSU also will host No. 6 Michigan (15-5, 5-1), which faces No. 4 North Carolina (16-5) on Saturday at 11 a.m. The winners of each game will square off for a Final Four spot at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Head coach Michele Madison said she hopes to see a sea of green and white at the MSU Field Hockey Complex on Saturday afternoon.
"I would love to think of (the tournament) as a winning tradition for us," Madison said. "I was glad to hear we were at home with the green and white fans. We hope everyone will come out and cheer us on."
Last year, the Spartans highlighted the season by making their first NCAA Final Four appearance in program history. MSU made a run in the Final Four by defeating Harvard, 4-3, in the opening round and defeated Northeastern, 2-1, in the regional finals.
Kyser said she hopes to control the tournament and is confident her team will come out on top.
"Expectations are a lot higher this year because we won before," she said. "People expect us to do well. I think it's nice to be expected to do good."
In the 2002 Final Four, then-No. 2 Wake Forest ended the No. 3 Spartans' historic run and later went on to claim the national championship.
Madison said she is confident her team will snatch two victories on home turf and head to the NCAA Final Four for the second straight year.
"The rabbit we're chasing is the final game," Madison said. "The rest is just a step along the way."
