This weekend, I will be in the press box at Ryan Field in Evanston, Ill., watching the Badgers take on Northwestern. Once the game and the interviews are over, I'll blast out of Illinois and back to Madison, praying to make it home in time to catch the end of a game halfway across the country.
After finishing the regular season with a 9-5-5 record overall and a third place finish in the Big Ten, the Wisconsin women's soccer team was expecting an NCAA tournament bid. However, it is hard to say if anyone predicted the Badgers would win their first two games of the tournament.
If the Badgers had to circle a mid-major opponent on their schedule, this would be the one.
Wisconsin dominated play Friday night and benefitted from timely goals Saturday to finish off its six-game homestand with a sweep of Alaska-Anchorage.
For most of the 2009 football season, the specter of 2008 has been looming.
After losing the top scorer from last year, many expected players like junior forward Jon Leuer to step forward and pick up the slack for Wisconsin. If Sunday night is any indication, Leuer is more than up to the task.
After being unable to break a 1-1 tie following 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of sudden death overtime, the only option left to claim a victor between Wisconsin and Arizona State was penalty kicks. Badger goalkeeper Michele Dalton came up with two huge saves to give the Badgers a 4-3 advantage on penalty shots and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Wisconsin and Minnesota took their heated rivalry to the volleyball court Sunday afternoon at the UW Field House. An announced crowd of 4,341 watched as the Golden Gophers made quick work of the Badgers, sweeping UW in three straight sets.
With just over a minute to go in the third period, the Wisconsin women's hockey team looked set to claim a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Wayne State Thursday night. But when a loose puck bounced off the boards and onto the stick of the Warriors' freshman forward Gina Buquet, she found herself with an open shot at the Wisconsin goal and scored to tie the game.
The Wisconsin men's hockey team closes out a three-week home stand this weekend against the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves. The Badgers look to continue to improve within the WCHA after picking up two points last weekend against the Gophers.
Wisconsin finally kicks off its regular season Sunday against Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne at home. The Badgers played in the annual red-white scrimmage and two exhibition games, and will now play when it counts.
Having already lost 1-0 to No. 4 seeded Indiana earlier in the season, the No. 5 seeded Wisconsin men's soccer team was looking to turn the tables and pull off an upset on head coach Todd Yeagley's alma mater. Unfortunately for the Badgers, a pair of goals in the second half by Indiana sophomore forward Will Bruin deflated any hopes the Badgers had of claiming their first Big Ten Tournament victory since 2003.
After months of training and a two-game exhibition stint, the Wisconsin men's basketball team will kick off its season this Sunday night when they host Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. With an extremely competitive Big Ten Conference this year and a challenging stretch in late November and early December, it's crucial the Badgers start off strong to set the tone for a successful season.
A little over a year ago in Ann Arbor, Michigan overcame a 19-point halftime deficit to beat then-undefeated Wisconsin, and kick-started a four-game losing streak that sent the Badgers' season into a tailspin. On Saturday, Wisconsin looks to return the favor.
Against Minnesota Oct. 29 and Nov. 1, the Wisconsin women's hockey team played its best hockey of the year, functioning well with strong goaltending and a high-powered offense that helped the Badgers to a pair of victories over their toughest competition of the year. It was a big difference from the same team that faced North Dakota, Bemidji State and Ohio State earlier in the season and split each of those series with first-game losses.
When the Michigan Wolverines take the field at Camp Randall Stadium Saturday, they won't be looking to shore up a resume for a BCS berth or gearing up for a dynamic rivalry game with Ohio State. No, on Saturday they will be fighting for their first FBS win since September and their best chance for bowl eligibility.
On UW-Superior's first possession, junior forward Jake Smith sent a high, inaccurate pass to junior forward Marcus Helland, who made the catch, hung in the air and banked it home to complete the alley-oop, sending oo's and ah's through the Kohl Center. But it was all downhill from there for the Yellowjackets, as Wisconsin cruised to an 80-47 preseason win.
Wisconsin (6-8 Big Ten, 11-12 overall) hits the road for Iowa City to play the Iowa Hawkeyes (3-11, 11-15) at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
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