Sports Covered: Softball, Golf, Tennis, Rowing, Lightweight Rowing, Volleyball, Hockey, Basketball
Softball
The Badgers went 4-1 during the week, sweeping Western Illinois in a home doubleheader and winning two of three at conference rival Illinois.
Wisconsin (24-13, 7-4 Big Ten) posted two come-from-behind wins to finish its five-game home stand undefeated on Tuesday against WIU. The Badgers beat the Fighting Leathernecks 12-11 in nine innings in the first game before scoring seven unanswered runs in the nightcap to win 7-1.
All three starting pitchers saw action in Tuesday’s opening game, with junior Meghan McIntosh (4-5) getting the win despite allowing three runs in the ninth inning. Junior Shannel Blackshear went 4-for-5 with 2 runs and an RBI, while Big Ten player of the week sophomore Stephanie Peace went 2-for-4 with 2 runs and 4 RBI.
WIU scored a run in the third inning of the nightcap, but the Badgers responded with a three-run fifth inning and a four-run sixth inning to win the game. Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Week sophomore Cassandra Darrah (14-6) allowed one run in five hits while walking two and striking two in the complete game win.
The Badgers won their school-record ninth straight game on Saturday with an 8-0 shutout over Illinois (18-20, 3-9). Darrah earned her second straight complete game win despite allowing two more hits than the Fighting Illini’s pitcher. Junior Kendall Grimm went a perfect 2-for-2 with 3 runs while classmate Whitney Massey added 2 runs and 2 RBI.
Wisconsin’s win streak came to an end in the first game of the rescheduled doubleheader on Sunday. The Badgers scored four runs in the seventh inning to cut Illinois’ lead to 1 but it wasn’t enough, as they fell 8-7. Freshmen Marissa Mersch and Maria Van Abel both went 3-for-4, with Mersch adding 3 RBI. Darrah took the loss, allowing eight runs on nine hits in five innings of play.
The Badgers rallied back in the second game with a school-record six home runs to win 10-7. Sophomore Mary Massei led off the game with her first of three homers while also adding 5 RBI. Classmate Michelle Mueller went 2-for-2 with 2 runs and 2 RBI in the win, while Darrah improved her record to 16-7 despite pitching only one inning in relief.
Wisconsin returns home to host Penn State for a three-game series starting on Saturday with a doubleheader at noon.
Golf
Wisconsin finished third at the Knights and Pirates Invitational, which ended on Tuesday in Melbourne, Fla. The Badgers put together the second lowest final round score of the day to finish at 17-over par, 881 (289-302-290=881), seven strokes in front of 31st-ranked Purdue.
Four Badgers finished in the top 25 overall led by redshirt freshman Kimberly Dinh. Dinh finished tied for third (71-74-73=218) at +2, while junior Lindsay Danielson (72-79-72=223) and sophomore Kris Yoo (74-77-72=223) finished tied for 15th at 7-over par, 223. Classmate Alexis Nelson finished 21st overall at +9 (72-72-81=225).
Up next for Wisconsin is the Big Ten Championships, April 27-29 in French Lick, Ind. The Badgers finished highest among all conference schools at the Knights and Pirates Invitational; Purdue finished behind UW in fourth, Michigan tied for fifth, and Illinois came in seventh.
Tennis
The Badgers split the weekend of home matches, losing to No. 34 Purdue on Friday before getting the upset against No. 47 Indiana on Sunday.
Wisconsin was swept by the Boilermakers on the doubles courts but got wins from freshman Sarah Loebel and sophomore Nicky Stracar on the singles courts. Stracar’s win against Purdue’s Mara Schmidt came in a super tiebreak (played instead of a third set).
The Badgers came from behind on both courts to get the win against the Hoosiers, their first since 2003. Senior Alaina Trgovich recorded an upset win of her own at No. 1 singles, beating No. 65 Leslie Hureau 6-4, 1-6, 6-2. Loebel, senior Aleksandra Markovic, and junior Hannah Berner also recorded individual wins on Sunday. Loebel and senior Angela Chupa also teamed up for the win at No. 3 doubles to secure the doubles point for Wisconsin.
Up next for the Badgers is a trip to Iowa on Friday at noon for their last road match of the regular season.
Openweight Rowing
The Wisconsin women’s openweight rowing team competed at the Lake Natoma Invitational in Gold Hills, Calif. last weekend. After qualifying for the group A finals on Saturday, the Badgers ended competition with four top-3 finishes on Sunday.
The Varsity Eight A, Varsity Four, and Novice Eight boats all finished second in their respective grand finals, while the the Varsity Eight B crew finished third. The Badgers fell to California in all of their races, with the Novice Eight crew coming in just 1.9 seconds behind the host-Golden Bears.
Wisconsin will travel to Minnesota for a Border Battle dual on April 29. The Badgers swept the Golden Gophers last spring in Madison.
Lightweight Rowing
The Wisconsin lightweight rowing team finished competition at the Knecht Cup in Cherry Hill, N.J. over the weekend. The Badgers came home with two titles, winning the lightweight eight final and the novice heavyweight eight grand final.
Wisconsin also put up impressive results against its heavyweight counterparts. The Badgers finished fourth in the varsity eight grand final, while also finishing third in the second varsity eight petite final. The varsity eight won both of its heats on Saturday to qualify for the grand final.
The Badgers travel back to the east coast on Saturday to take on MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and Buffalo in Boston.
Volleyball
The Wisconsin volleyball team continued its spring season on Saturday, finishing third in the Great Lakes Center Collegiate Challenge in Aurora, Ill. The Badgers beat Tianjin of China (26-24, 25-23) and Bradley (25-22, 25-23) in the morning, advancing to the gold division playoff. Wisconsin then fell to conference rival Michigan State (25-23, 25-11) before beating national runner-up Illinois in three sets (24-26, 25-22, 15-13).
The Badgers conclude their spring schedule at the Northern Iowa Spring Tournament on Saturday.
Hockey
The Badgers playing for team USA during the IIHF Women’s World Championship shined this week despite eventually taking home the silver medal.
Team USA reached the final game by first shutting out Finland, 11-0, on Tuesday. Former Badger Hilary Knight scored the first goal of what would be a six-tally second period with an assist from current Badger Brianna Decker. She had a three-point night, assisting on a goal in the third period and scoring one of her own in the middle frame.
Decker tallied another goal in Friday’s semifinal game against Switzerland, which the U.S. won, 10-0. Former Badger Erika Lawler scored her first goal of the championships at 5:24 of the third period.
Decker had another multi-point night during the gold-medal game against Canada on Saturday. She assisted on a goal which tied the game in the first period before scoring in the second frame to cut Canada’s lead to one.
Former Badger Meaghan Mikkelson (2003-07) received a gold medal as part of team Canada.
Basketball
As announced on Friday by the Wisconsin State Journal, UConn sophomore Michala Johnson will transfer to UW next year. She will have to sit out next season but will have two years of eligibility left. Johnson saw time in only 56 games with the Huskies because of knee problems dated back to her junior year of high school. Despite that, she stated that she saw the opportunity to have more playing time at UW while being closer to her home of Bellwood, Ill. Johnson’s sister, Malayna, has orally committed to join the Badgers in 2013 as well.
Also announced this week, Somerset native Tessa Cichy will join the Badgers next season as a preferred walk-on. Cichy, a 5-10 guard from Hill-Murray (Minn.) School, rejected scholarship offers from schools including Minnesota and Northwestern for UW. She will be one of six new players on the Badgers next year.
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