Cross Country
The Badgers are gearing up for an exciting weekend, as they host the Adidas Invitational at the Zimmer Championship Course in Verona, where the team regularly trains. The Adidas Invitational is an important race for the Badgers, as 17 of the top 30 men’s teams and 20 of the top 25 women’s teams in the nation will be there and several NCAA Championship qualification points are on the table.
Director Mick Byrne knows the importance of this race, and is making sure that all of his strongest runners are ready to go on Friday.
“You can’t hide a team in a race like this on Friday,” Byrne said. “You’ve got to run your big guns, and they’ve got to run hard, and that’s what we expect our athletes to do.”
On the men’s side, Byrne referred to sophomore Joe Hardy, sophomore Morgan McDonald and junior two-time Big Ten Champion Malachy Schrobilgen as the team’s big guns.
Byrne has incredibly high expectations for Schrobilgen.
“Coming off an incredible summer of training, he has done some really good workouts,” Byrne said. “Expect to see Malachy up there fighting for the individual title.”
On the women’s side, Byrne also expects big things from junior Sarah Disanza and senior Molly Hanson.
Byrne is looking forward to hosting this esteemed race for years to come, even though the Badgers are parting way with Adidas in the summer.
“I think Under Armour Invitational has a good ring to it,” Byrne joked.
Volleyball
Last weekend, the Badgers (2-2 Big Ten, 12-4 overall) traveled out east and earned two wins against Big Ten opponents Rutgers (0-6, 3-15) and Maryland (0-6,10-10).
Head coach Kelly Sheffield was pleased with his team’s continued improvement in its two victories. Specifically, Sheffield was happy with the play of sophomore outside hitter Lauryn Gillis and redshirt junior outside hitter Romana Kriskova.
“I thought we got a great weekend, again, from those two,” Sheffield said. “The numbers just keep getting better and better from those guys.”
More surprisingly, Sheffield highlighted the way his team handled the external distractions, like a rare rain delay, during the Rutgers game.
“We’ve had a few issues that we’ve had to just kind of roll with,” Sheffield said. “And I think those things can help you as you go down the line.”
Still, Sheffield knows that the team needs to keep improving if they want to beat better opponents down the line.
“As a coach you still sit there and say, man, there is so much room that we gotta get better in that area, and we do,” Sheffield said.
The Badgers look to continue that improvement this week, as they play one of the nation’s best teams in Minnesota ( 5-1, 13-3).
“Confidence is a powerful thing. When you have it, you feel like you can conquer the world,” Sheffield said in reference to the Golden Gophers. “This team believes in themselves, and that’s a fun place to be.”
Men’s Hockey
The Badgers (0-0-2) got their first game action last weekend, as they tied Northern Michigan (1-0-2) twice at home, 2-2 and 3-3. Both games ended in impressive comeback fashion, as the Badgers scored with 42 seconds left in the first game, and overcame a 3-0 deficit in the second.
Head coach Mike Eaves was impressed with his team’s resilience in its first weekend playing together.
“You’re trying to grow together as a team,” Eaves said. “By coming back in both back-to-back nights, that says a lot about a team coming together.”
Individually, Eaves liked what he saw from freshman forward Luke Kunin.
“He can be a difference maker. He has natural ability.” Eaves said. “The way he goes about his business is very mature.”
Still, Eaves knows that the team still has room to improve moving forward, especially on the road. The team travels to Boston this weekend, and Eaves is excited to see how his team handles the pressure.
“We will be able to get right into where the fire is a little hotter, and the teams there have a little bit more firepower,” Eaves said. “We will find out how we handled that.”
Football
The Badgers (1-1 Big Ten, 4-2 overall) pulled out a close, come from behind 23-21 win at Nebraska (0-2, 2-4) last weekend on a last second field goal by sophomore kicker Rafael Gaglianone.
Head coach Paul Chryst was happy with his team’s character, as his younger and less experienced players helped contribute to the win.
“I’m certainly proud of the way guys kept playing Saturday and the number of guys that had to contribute,” Chryst said. “I think it was big.”
Specifically, Chryst was happy with the efforts of redshirt freshman offensive lineman Beau Benzschawel.
“I thought that he did a nice job for his first start and first game action,” Chryst said.
Looking ahead, Chryst is keeping the players focused only on next week’s home matchup against Purdue (0-2, 1-5).
“None of it matters,” Chryst said, referring to the Badgers ranking in the Big Ten West standings, “if you don’t take advantage of every opportunity each week.
During the week of practice ahead, Chryst will work with the players on developing an identity and playing within themselves.
“It is fun during the season to see your identity come out,” Chryst said. “Whatever it is, we just gotta be the best we can be.”
