Volleyball heads to regionals
Fresh off two wins at the Field House last weekend to open the NCAA tournament, the volleyball team travels to UW-Green Bay this weekend for Sweet Sixteen action.
The Badgers (21-9) will face third-seed Hawaii (30-0) Friday night with the winner advancing to take on either Texas (26-4) or Stanford (26-6).
\30-0, a Final Four contender practically every year,"" UW Head Coach Pete Waite said of Hawaii. ""You know, it's one of those things where we go in there with a young team, and we've done some great things in the Big Ten and obviously here in the first and second round, and we take a shot at them and see what we can do.""
The Badgers will continue to look for big performances from junior middle blocker Sheila Shaw and senior outside hitter Jill Odenthal.
Shaw was named to the All-Mideast Region team this week, making her eligible for All-America honors. Odenthal was named honorable mention All-Mideast Region and will also be on the ballot to be named an All-American.
With three teams having to travel a great distance, the Badgers, being just a few hours away, obviously have an advantage.
""It's practically home court for us. Obviously in-state is great,"" Waite said. ""We're going to have a number of people coming up.""
Women's skaters get some time off
The Badger women's hockey team (7-4-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association, 11-4-1 overall) will join the men's hockey team in Mankato, Minn., this weekend for a road-series with Minnesota State.
The No. 4 Badgers are coming off a tough series with No. 1 Minnesota in which they escaped with a tie and one point in the conference standings. They will continue to try to catch up to the Gophers who have a sizable conference lead.
After this weekend, the Badgers will get nearly a month off from play. They will return to the ice when they travel to Hamden, Conn., for a non-conference series with Quinnipiac Jan. 7 to 8, before hosting Minnesota-Duluth the following weekend.
Wrestlers head to Chattanooga and Dallas
The Wisconsin wrestling team (3-0) is coming off a ninth-place finish at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas. This weekend they travel to Chattanooga, Tenn., and Kent State before three weeks off over break.
The Badgers return to the mat in Dallas Jan. 8 at the Lonestar Duals.
The following week the team will open its Big Ten season, beginning Jan. 14 when the Badgers will host Illinois.
Swimmers off until New Year's Eve
Both the UW men's and women's swimming and diving teams are off until Dec. 31 when they take part in the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu. They will remain in Hawaii to take on Texas A&M, South Dakota and Hawaii the following weekend.
