Offensive fireworks were the theme of the weekend for Wisconsin Softball, as the Badgers outscored their opponents 35-7 on the way to a 3-0 record in the Houston Hilton Plaza Classic.
When the NCAA announced the eight-team bracket for the 2017 women’s ice hockey tournament on March 5, it didn’t come with any surprises for the top-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, but it did bring some welcome news, and some unknown matchups. No. 1 in both polls and coming off a WCHA regular season and tournament title, the Badgers were effectively assured of a tournament berth and a first-round matchup at home.
Getting to Harrison, New Jersey may not be what most people would consider as a huge step in their career.
“I feel like we can run the table, I really do,” said Nigel Hayes, maybe. Well perhaps that’s a bit of a stretch, but Badgers fans, coaches and players alike all had to let out a huge collective sigh of relief after Wisconsin’s convincing 66-49 win over Minnesota Sunday. The victory snapped a three-game skid for UW and a brutal stretch of basketball where it had lost five of six.
University of Minnesota-Duluth goaltender Maddie Rooney had stolen the show the day before against Minnesota, and for 40 minutes, she threatened to do the same to Wisconsin in the final of the WCHA Tournament. The sophomore netminder had turned back 42 of the Badgers’ 43 shots, and with the score tied 1-1 the game, and the conference title, were up for grabs in the final period. It took junior forward Annie Pankowski just 33 seconds to break the tie, the first of three goals in the final frame that gave No. 1 Wisconsin (22-2-4 WCHA, 31-2-4 overall) a 4-1 win over No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth (19-5-4, 25-6-5). The victory gave the Badgers the WCHA Tournament title, their third consecutive and seventh overall. "I'm excited for the players," head coach Mark Johnson told UWBadgers.com.
In the week leading up to his team’s final game of the regular season, Bronson Koenig made one thing clear: He wants to be remembered as a winner. After playing just five minutes in the first half thanks to two early fouls, the senior guard reiterated his sentiments on the court, burying five second-half threes en route to a blowout of Minnesota (11-7 Big Ten, 23-8 overall). Koenig led the way as the No. 22 Badgers (12-6, 23-8) ran away with a victory on senior night, 66-49. UW trailed by two points at the break, as they shot just 38.7 percent from the floor and missed four of their five free throws.
Coaches often stress the importance of playing with a lead. Playing with a lead allows a team to skate with confidence and play more sound hockey without taking chances.
It’s been almost five years since Zak Showalter first stepped foot onto the floor of the Kohl Center.
All season long No. 1 Wisconsin and North Dakota have played tough, physical — and at points chippy — games.
Friday, the No. 31 Wisconsin men’s tennis team (8-2) hosted its last two non-conference opponents in a double header. In the morning, the Badgers faced off against Eastern Illinois (2-9). They kept their remarkable undefeated doubles streak alive early on, as they took three courts at 6-1 a piece to preserve their streak.
For the Wisconsin Badgers wrestling team, their last practice started with a game of handball. While it may not be Olympic regulation handball, the game was clearly important, with head coach Barry Davis scoring the goals by giving a big two-handed fist pump.
Following a first-round victory over Rutgers University, the Wisconsin Badgers were scheduled to face off against Michigan State Thursday night, a team who defeated Wisconsin at home 81-57 earlier in the season.
With the blink of an eye, the No. 22 Wisconsin Badgers (11-6 Big Ten, 22-8 overall) saw their victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes (9-8, 17-13) vanish. After two missed free throws by redshirt sophomore Ethan Happ with 29 seconds to go, Iowa received a timely basket by a familiar Kohl Center face. Hawkeye freshman guard Jordan Bohannon, the younger brother of former Badgers Zach and Jason Bohannon, knocked down the game-winning 3-pointer with just nine seconds left.
Top-ranked Wisconsin (22-2-4 WCHA, 29-2-4 overall) will look to win back-to-back WCHA Final Face-Off titles this weekend after sweeping Minnesota State last weekend at LaBahn Arena.
With Wisconsin clinging to a 3-2 lead in hostile territory, Peter Tischke laid his body on the line to help preserve the Badger lead.
In this week's edition of the Cardinal Zone Podcast, host Bobby Ehrlich talks to Cameron Lane-Flehinger about women's hockey's quest to capture the WCHA Tournament title, in which they will have to get past a physical North Dakota Team.
Seven Wisconsin swimmers and five relays were selected by the NCAA to compete at the women’s National Championships later this month There are nineteen total individual entries confirmed for the meet, which means that many swimmers were selected to swim in two or three events. The individual entries include: Maria Carlson: 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard breaststroke Dana Grindall: 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard butterfly Chase Kinney: 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle Beata Nelson: 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard backstroke, 200-yard backstroke Cierra Runge: 200-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle, mile Jess Unicomb: 100-yard backstroke, 200-yard backstroke, 200-yard individual medley Danielle Valley: 400-yard individual medley, 500-yard freestyle, mile Emmy Sehmann, Abby Jagdfeld and Marissa Berg are also expected to compete as relay-only swimmers. The NCAA National Championships will take place at the storied IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis March 15-18.
The No. 11 seed Badgers opened up Big Ten Tournament play against the No. 14 seed Rutgers, and the two were tied 6-6 with 3:16 left in the first quarter. The game was never tied again, as the Badgers (3-13 Big Ten, 9-21 overall) went on to the win the first quarter 14-6, the first half 27-13, and ultimately the game 61-55 against the Scarlet Knights (3-12, 6-24). “We've talked a lot as a team since the game ended at Iowa on Sunday night about doing something that nobody in the program currently had done: win a first round game,” head coach Jonathan Tsipis told UWBadgers.com. Redshirt senior forward Avyanna Young led her young squad with 20 points, and also added four rebounds and three assists. While Young did pour in almost a third of her team’s points, Rutgers’ Shrita Parker did her best to keep her team afloat with 24 points in the game.
In December 2016, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman threatened to “ruin the career” of local radio host Jim Moore after he asked the 28-year-old about his conflict with the team’s offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell. While this incident flew largely under the radar in the national media landscape, it has been brought back to light after Sherman denied this incident on a recent ESPN interview.
Even with four seniors set to play in their final home game of their careers later this week, the No. 22 Wisconsin Badgers (11-5 Big Ten, 22-7 overall) are never too experienced to go back to basics. After two road losses last week to Ohio State and Michigan State in which UW surrendered more than 80 points, Wisconsin is re-emphasizing some of its basic principles on defense as they look to rebound Thursday at home against Iowa (8-8, 16-13), a young team with high potential. While the Badgers might have tied a season-high for points allowed Sunday in their 84-74 loss to Michigan State, head coach Greg Gard actually saw improvement in his team’s defense. Gard noted that UW’s aggressiveness and physicality was better than it was in their 83-73 loss to Ohio State Thursday.
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