The UW volleyball team might have closed its home season last weekend, but the excitement at the UW Field House is not quite over.
Quietly, the UW wrestling team (8-0-0) has begun its season with eight straight victories, all of which have come on the road. The team now opens its home season Friday at the Field House when it takes on Northern Iowa.
The team's most recent match ended with a fifth place finish at the Cliff Keen Invitational tournament in Las Vegas, only 18.5 points behind second place finisher and Big Ten foe Michigan this past weekend. The Badgers showed a marked improvement over last year's performance scoring 90.5 points, exactly 60 points better than one year ago. The Badgers were led by freshman Kyle Ruschell and junior Craig Henning, who were able to notch third place finishes at 141 lbs. and 157 lbs. respectively.
Not only did the Badgers finish well at the Cliff Keen, but they have dominated their opponents all season long. UW has dismantled the likes of Dubuque, UW-Oshkosh, Navy and Division II challengers Indianapolis and Cumberland. UW also took down NC State, Virginia and North Carolina in wrestling's version of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with solid match victories of 20, 23 and 26 points respectively.
UW is anchored by sophomore and team-leading dual meet point scorer Dallas Herbst who, as of Nov. 21, boasted a perfect 8-0 individual record in the 197 lbs. weight class and also tallied 46 points. UW is also led by sophomore Zach Tanelli who has been able to accumulate 35 dual points as well as a perfect 8-0 individual record in the 133 lbs .weight class.
UW opponents have not even come close to upending the Badger grapplers, falling by an average of just over 34 points per match. Through their success, the Badgers have mimicked their start to the 2002-'03 season by going 8-0 and also have improved by two games over what last year's squad had accomplished at the same point in the season.
Not only has UW proven to be a force on the mat early this season, but the coaches are showing what they can do in recruiting. UW signed two high school state finalists, Ben Sarbacker out of Verona, Wis. and Kendall Vogel from Westfield, Wis. Sarbacker was the 2006 state champion at 160 lbs. and also boasted a 54-0 record as a junior. Vogel was a three-time state qualifier and finished second in the state meet as a junior.
UW will finally return to Madison to entertain the University of Northern Iowa on Friday evening, before heading back out for one final road trip before the beginning of Big Ten play.
