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Wisconsin picked second in preseason Big Ten Volleyball poll

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Dana Rettke

After tying for seventh in last year’s Big Ten Conference race, the Wisconsin volleyball team is picked to finish second in this year’s contest based on a preseason vote of league coaches.  The Badgers, who were 11-9 in Big Ten play in 2017, are picked to finish second behind reigning NCAA and Big Ten Champion Nebraska.

The Huskers (19-1 Big Ten record in 2017), who shared the 2017 conference championship with Penn State (19-1), are picked to win the Big Ten title this season.  Minnesota (15-5) finished third last season and is picked to finish third in 2018.  The Nittany Lions are ranked fourth while Illinois (12-8) is expected to finish fifth this season after tying for fifth with Purdue in 2017.

The Badgers landed two players on the preseason team, including unanimous selection Dana Rettke.  The 6’8 middle blocker was named the 2017 National Player of the Year by three separate organizations and was also named the 2017 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.  Senior Tionna Williams, a two-time All-Big Ten selection, was also named to the preseason All-Big Ten team for the second-straight year.

Wisconsin hosts its annual Red vs. White Scrimmage on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the UW Field House.  The season opens on Aug. 24-25 at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in the Target Center, the site of the 2018 NCAA Championship, in Minneapolis.  The Badgers host No. 3 Texas in their home opener on Sept. 1 in the Field House.

Badgers picked fifth in Big Ten Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll

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Penn State is the top choice to win the 2018 Big Ten Conference women’s soccer championship, according to the Big Ten preseason coaches’ poll announced on Monday.

The Nittany Lions, who have won 18 Big Ten titles and claimed their seventh Big Ten Tournament championship last year, were selected first in the 2018 Big Ten preseason poll by the conference’s 14 head coaches.

Ohio State, which earned its second Big Ten crown last season, finished second in this year’s preseason poll, while Rutgers, which has reached the Big Ten Tournament title game twice in the last three seasons, was chosen third.

Rounding out the top five in the team balloting were Northwestern and Wisconsin.  Both the Wildcats and Badgers reached the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament, with Northwestern also advancing to the 2017 Big Ten Tournament title game, the Wildcats’ second appearance in the final and first in 20 years.

The 2018 Big Ten women’s soccer season kicks off Thursday with six conference schools in action, while the remaining Big Ten programs will begin play this weekend.

Badger volleyball ranked 9th in preseason coaches poll

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For the fifth straight year, the Wisconsin volleyball team opens the season among the top-10 teams in the nation.  The Badgers are ranked No. 9 in the 2018 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 preseason poll, released on Wednesday.

It is the 10th time in program history that UW is ranked in the top 10 and the fifth-straight year under head coach Kelly Sheffield.  Wisconsin was ranked fourth in 2016, tied for fifth in 2015, sixth in 2014 and seventh in 2017.

Stanford leads the preseason poll after advancing to the national semifinals in 2017.  Reigning NCAA champion Nebraska ranks second, followed by Texas, Minnesota and Kentucky.  Penn State is sixth, followed by Florida, BYU, Wisconsin and Southern California. [Read more…]

Big Ten Announces Football Preseason Honors

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The Big Ten Conference announced its 2018 football preseason honors on Monday in conjunction with the start of Big Ten Media Days in Chicago.  A media panel selected the 10-member preseason list, with five representatives each from the East and West Divisions.

Two Badgers led the way in the vote of Western Division standouts.  Senior linebacker T.J. Edwards and sophomore running back Jonathan Taylor earned recognition.  They’re joined by Iowa junior tight end Noah Fant, Nebraska senior wide receiver Stanley Morgan Jr., and Northwestern sophomore linebacker Paddy Fisher.

Ohio State fielded a pair of honorees on the East Division roster, junior defensive end Nick Bosa and sophomore running back J.K. Dobbins.  Penn State was represented by senior quarterback and unanimous selection Trace McSorley.  Michigan junior defensive lineman Rashan Gary and Michigan State junior quarterback Brian Lewerke rounded out the East Division lineup.

Ellenwood Named Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year

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Georgia Ellenwood

After winning the Big Ten Conference and NCAA title in the heptathlon, Wisconsin women’s track and field senior Georgia Ellenwood has been named the Big Ten Women’s Field Athlete of the Year.

The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Great Lakes Region Field Athlete of the Year, Ellenwood captured the Badgers’ first NCAA title in the heptathlon last week and was the only Big Ten Conference female student athlete to win a title at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.  The Langley, British Columbia, native scored 6,146 points despite rainy conditions at Historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Her NCAA performance followed up a record-breaking showing a the 2018 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships.  Ellenwood scored a conference record 6,173 points, the best score by a collegian this year in the heptathlon to win her third career Big Ten title.  That score ranks No. 5 on Canada’s all-time list, No. 10 on the NCAA all-time list and No. 12 in the world this year.

The announcement marks the second time in the last three years a Badger has earned the honor as Kelsey Card was named the Big Ten Women’s Field Athlete of the Year in 2016.

 

ACC/Big Ten women’s matchups announced Monday

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The matchups for the ACC/Big Ten Women’s Basketball Challenge were announced on Monday.  The annual challenge is offering 14 games for the fifth consecutive season.

The challenge takes place over two days in late November, beginning Wednesday, Nov. 28th, and continuing the following night.

Last year’s Challenge proved to be one of the most competitive in the event’s history, with 10 of the 14 games decided by 10 points or fewer, including four games decided by one point, with the ACC ultimately prevailing by a 10-4 count.  Last year, Maryland, Penn State, Rutgers and Wisconsin registered wins for the Big Ten.

The Big Ten sent six schools to the NCAA Tournament in 2018, as Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Ohio [Read more…]

Former Badgers land on College Hall of Fame ballot

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Two former Wisconsin Badger football greats are among those on the ballot for the 2019 College Football Hall of Fame class.

Defensive back Troy Vincent and offensive lineman Joe Thomas, are both on the ballot.  Vincent has been up for consideration on the ballot since 1027, but Thomas is new to the list.

Thomas just retired following an outstanding career with the Cleveland Browns, a career that will likely land him a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  He was taken with the third overall pick of the 2007 NFL draft.  Thomas was selected to 10 Pro Bowls and seven first-team all-pro selections.  At Wisconsin, he won the 2006 Outland Trophy for the nation’s best offensive lineman, was a unanimous All-American in 2006 and twice was named first-team all-Big Ten.

Vincent was drafted as the seventh-overall pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1992.  He played 16 seasons in the NFL, including five Pro Bowl appearances.  Vincent finished second in voting for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s top defensive back.  He is currently the executive vice president of football operations for the NFL.

A total of 76 players and six coaches from major college football will be considered for the Hall of Fame this year.  The latest class of about 15 players and coaches will be announced January 7, the day of the College Football Playoff national championship.

 

Big Ten Hockey Schedule is out

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The Big Ten released the 2018-19 men’s hockey schedule on Tuesday, and 21 of Wisconsin‘s 34 regular-season games will take place against teams that played in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, including 12 against teams that took part in the 2018 NCAA Frozen Four.

The 2018-19 season opens at the Kohl Center on Oct. 12 when Boston College visits for a weekend series in Madison.  It marks the first of five non-conference weekends for the Badgers, including the first four weekends of the season.

After Boston College, UW travels to Clarkson and St. Lawrence for the Oct. 19-20 weekend.  A home series with Michigan Tech follows (Oct. 26-27), before the Badgers visit North Dakota (Nov. 2-3).

Wisconsin jumps into the Big Ten Conference season on Nov. 9-10 against border-rival Minnesota at the Kohl Center.

The Badgers will also close Big Ten play on March 1st and 2nd against Michigan.

Big Ten Tournament play starts the weekend of March 8-10 and runs for three weeks.  NCAA Regional play runs the weekend of March 29-31.  The 2019 NCAA Frozen Four runs April 11-13 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

 

Wisconsin falls in NCAA Softball Tournament

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The Wisconsin women’s softball team is out of the NCAA Tournament after losing a pair of regional games on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

The Badgers, after beating Oregon State 9-3 on Friday, lost to Alabama 9-1 and Oregon State 5-1 to see their season come to an end.

Wisconsin made the NCAA Tournament field for the second straight season and finished with a 29-23 overall record.

The Badgers were one of five Big Ten teams to earn spot in the NCAA Tournament field, but all five of those teams lost.  The Badgers were the last team to make the tournament field.

Big East and Big Ten Announce Matchups for Gavitt Tipoff Games

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The Big East and Big Ten Conferences have announced the matchups for the fourth annual Gavitt Tipoff Games, with eight men’s basketball contests set for Nov. 13-16, 2018.

The Gavitt Tipoff Games features games matching the best of the Big East and Big Ten Conferences and is named in honor of Hall of Famer Dave Gavitt, founder of the Big East and basketball visionary.

Among the 16 participating schools, six played in the NCAA Tournament last year and three played in the NIT.  The NCAA Tournament teams are:  Creighton, Michigan, Ohio State, Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier.  The three NIT squads are Marquette, Nebraska and Penn State.

The 2018 matchups follow: [Read more…]