In the shadow of the excitement of a bowl game, March Madness and a run at the national championship, non-revenue sports held their own — for the most part.
While volleyball and softball had less-than-stellar seasons, both women’s soccer and men’s tennis fought their way into their respective NCAA Tournaments.
Back in the fall, volleyball found itself in a rebuilding year. With six freshman and five sophomores, head coach Pete Waite felt he needed to take things back to the basics.
“Some of it is psychological and some of it is emotional for the young kids as far as the learning process, but we have to make sure we touch on everything so they understand it,” Waite said at a press conference in the fall.
Although they ended their season losing nine straight matches going 11-18, 6-14 Big Ten, the team still drew in the largest attendance in the Big Ten.
The men’s soccer team also had a transitioning season under the supervision of new head coach Todd Yeagley. After going 3-3 in their Big Ten season — 7-9-2 overall — the squad took on Yeagley’s alma mater in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Badger’s were unable to find the back of the net against the Hoosiers, watching their season end in a 2-0 loss. To add to the pain, Yeagley bolted for a job at Indiana after the season, so John Trask took over as head coach for the spring and will be the Badgers’ third head coach in three years.
While volleyball and men’s soccer struggled, women’s soccer seemed to hit the right stride. Ending their regular season 9-5-5, 5-1-4 in the Big Ten, the squad was selected into the NCAA Tournament.
Starting against Arizona State, both teams put up a strong fight through 110 minutes of play, forcing the game to be decided on penalty kicks. Ahead by one goal, UW goalkeeper Michele Dalton made what were probably the biggest saves of her life, getting the Badgers the win and one game closer to the championship. The squad fought through another round, finding themselves in the Sweet Sixteen — before Boston College ended their season in a 1-0 decision.
The softball team couldn’t seem to get things started on the right foot. Much like the volleyball team, they haven’t had much success in their season so far, sitting at 19-28, 3-10 Big Ten. Although their season is not over yet, with only three series left the squad didn’t quite have the season they probably hoped for. However, the streak of 15-40 seasons ends here; partly due to rainouts, partly due to actual improvement.
Sharing a similar feeling, the women’s tennis team finished at 8-15, 3-7 Big Ten. With a chance to change things around in the Big Ten Tournament, the squad took out Minnesota 4-0 in the first round. In the second round they faced Michigan, who ended their season in a 4-1 match.
While the women struggled, the men’s tennis team found its own success this season. Finishing out 18-7, 7-3 Big Ten the squad fell to Ohio State — the eventual champion — in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament after shutting out Minnesota in the quarterfinal round.
Although the Big Ten Tournament didn’t go quite their way, Wisconsin’s season isn’t over yet as they still have to face Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
