JWS Staff
Nov 29, 2022
Defending champion Wisconsin volleyball ended its regular season on an 18-match winning streak.
The Badgers have not lost since Sept. 25, even as the team endured a tough Big Ten schedule and the turmoil of a photo leak investigation, and now they enter the NCAA tournament with a 25-3 overall record and the No. 1 seed.
— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB) November 28, 2022𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙊𝙢𝙖𝙝𝙖 begins now.
Badgers earn the No. 1 Seed in the Top Right Region. pic.twitter.com/BPSfSPSNHc
The University of Wisconsin athletic department announced on Oct. 19 the investigation into a a leak of private photos and videos of Badgers women’s volleyball players, which were then shared on the internet.
At least one of the photos appears to have been taken after the team won the Big Ten title last November and shows members of the team posing with their sports bras lifted, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
The athletic department called the leak a “significant and wrongful invasion” of the athletes’ privacy. Yet even after the off-court issue, which highlighted the vulnerable position of college athletes, the Badgers continued to roll.
Wisconsin finished its conference season Saturday with a 3-1 win against Ohio State, clinching a 19-1 conference record and theBig Ten title. The only loss came on Sept. 25 against Minnesota.
“There was so much learning that came from our one loss against Minnesota,” coach Kelly Sheffield said. “That was really important for where we are right now. There was so much opportunity for us to learn throughout the course of the year and I am so proud of them.”
The 18-match winning streak is tied for the second-longest winning streak in program history. The 19-1 conference record is tied for the best conference record in program history.
Wisconsin already has sold out all-session tickets to its first- and second-round matches in the NCAA tournament. The Badgers will start their quest for a repeat title at 8 p.m. ET Friday against Quinnipiac.
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Emma Hruby
Jun 6, 2024
Oklahoma is on the brink of a four-peat at the Women’s College World Series after taking Game 1 over Texas of the championship series 8-3.
Should the Sooners win, they earn an eighth-overall and fourth-straight WCWS title. No other team has won four consecutive NCAA softball championships.
"This is it," Sooners pitcher Kelly Maxwell, who transferred in this season from Oklahoma State, said of being on the brink. "This is my last opportunity. I'm just going to do everything I can to keep this team in it. I know that they have my back and I got theirs."
While Oklahoma has dominated throughout the regular season, they did face an unexpected setback courtesy of ared-hot Florida team. In Monday’s Game 11, the No. 6-seeded Gators snapped the Sooners’ 20-game NCAA tournament win streak, forcing Tuesday’s winner-take-all Game 12 with a convincing 9-3 win. Florida’s victory was fueled by two monster home runs from infielder Skylar Wallace alongside Keagan Rothrock’s ace pitching.
Despite the upset, a recomposed Oklahoma took the field the following day for a tight eight-inning clash culminating in awalk-off blastfrom Jayda Coleman that sent the Sooners to WCWS final.
But head coach Patty Gasso knows there’s still work to be done in the WCWS.
"We're not over-jubilant because we know there's still a lot of work to do against a very, very good team that has very good pitchers, very good hitters," Gasso said. "We know what's in front of us still. So you don't see us celebrating."
Texas, meanwhile, entered the postseason as the No. 1 overall seed. And the Longhorns are not about to roll over: In their Super Regional against Texas A&M, they lost the first game before winning the next two to advance.
Earlier this season, they lost the first game of their series to Oklahoma before rebounding to take their first series over the Sooners since 2009.
"Now it's theirs to lose in some respect," Texas coach Mike White said of the Sooners. "They have to win one of the next two games. I like being in that position, sometimes being the underdog. We're the top dog for a little bit, so to speak, but were we? They're three-time national champions. It's a mind game.
"Champions reframe. How can we reframe from this loss, what we're facing right now, come out and have a better game and see if we can play some good softball."
Game 2 of the WCWS Championship Series starts at 8 PM ET on Thursday, June 6th and will be broadcast live on ESPN. Game 3, if necessary, will air on ESPN on Friday, June 7th starting at 8 PM ET.
Emma Hruby
Jun 6, 2024
The French Open final is set, with world No. 1 Iga Swiatek set to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.
Swiatek took care of top-ranked American Coco Gauff in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 in Thursday's French Open semifinal. Afterward, Swiatek expressed high praise for Gauff's performance.
"She is progressing a lot. You can see by her results. Last year's US Open, for sure, showed that she's tough. At this age, it's kind of obvious that she's going to just grow. So it's nice to see her handling well everything around her, because it's not easy," Swiatek noted. "I'm sure we're going to have plenty more really intense matches on the really highest level."
For Gauff, the tournament isn’t a total loss. She’ll move up to a personal best world No. 2 this week after 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva upset former No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka at the French Open to become the youngest major semifinalist since 1997.
Gauff will now be the first American tennis player — male or female — to be ranked inside the top two since Serena Williams in 2017.
Emma Hruby
Jun 6, 2024
The first-ever women’s version of the Soccer Tournament (TST) gets underway Friday morning, where eight teams will play for a $1 million winner-take-all prize.
This year’s tournament features a slate of pro, semi-pro, amateur, and retired athletes representing teams from four different countries and five pro clubs: US Women, Wrexham Red Dragons, Burnley FC, Soccerhead FC, North Carolina Courage, Streetball FC Canada, Tampa Bay Sun FC, and Angel City 7S.
TST first launched in June 2023. Since branching out into the women's game for the 2024 season, it’s now the world’s highest-stakes women’s soccer tournament, offering equal $1 million prizes for both the men’s and women’s champions.
The 2023 tournament was modeled after the World Cup, with 32 teams battling it out in eight groups of four before 16 teams advanced to single-elimination knockout rounds.
USWNT legend Heather O’Reilly led the creation of the women’s side when she entered an all-women’s team coached by Hamm into the inaugural tournament, with the rest of the teams being all men.
This year's headliners include NWSL and USWNT vets Mia Hamm, Michele Akers,Heather O’Reilly, Lori Lindsey,Ali Krieger, Allie Long, and Carli Lloyd (US Women); Jessica McDonald (NC Courage); Chenya Matthews and Kealia Watt (Burnley FC); Carley Telford (Wrexham Red Dragons); and Brazil’s Formiga (Tampa Bay Sun FC).
TBT Enterprises— which has run a basketball version of the tournament since 2014 — is behind the venture.
Thewomen’s group stagekicks off on June 7th at 9:30 AM ET and runs through June 10th’s championship doubleheader. Select games throughout the tournament will air onESPN networks, with the remaining games available to stream onTST’s website.
Emma Hruby
Jun 6, 2024
USA Basketball released its official 3Ă—3 Olympic roster on Wednesday, naming some familiar faces to the four-player team.
2023 FIBA 3Ă—3 World Cup champs Cameron Brink, Cierra Burdick, and Hailey Van Lith were all named to the squad alongside 2022 No. 1 draft pick Rhyne Howard. Brink was named MVP of the 2023 FIBA 3Ă—3 World Cup, while Burdick also won gold at the 2014 World Championship for 3Ă—3.
Brink is a rookie in the WNBA this season, going No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks. Van Lith, meanwhile, will finish her college career at TCU this upcoming season.
"It is an honor to announce the USA Basketball 3Ă—3 Women's National Team," Jay Demings, USA Basketball 3Ă—3 national team director and member of the USA Basketball 3Ă—3 women's selection committee said in a statement. "It is an exciting process to put a roster together that will represent the country on a global stage. We are thankful for all the athletes who attended training camps or participated in 3Ă—3 competitions on the journey to Paris 2024."
2011 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year and current WNBA Connecticut Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti will be the team’s head coach, while University of Rhode Island coach Tammi Reiss will be her assistant.
The sport was first introduced at the 2020 Tokyo Games, with the WNBA’s Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young all taking home the inaugural gold medal.
Other qualified teams for the women's Olympic 3Ă—3 competition include China, France, Azerbaijan, Australia, Germany, Spain, and Canada. Team USA is currently ranked second in the world behind China.
