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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Claire Watkins
Aug 30, 2024
This weekend's WNBA actionwill dip into therace for the playoffs, as nine teams vie for just five remaining postseason spots.
New York, Minnesota, andConnecticuthave all clinched their playoff berths, but the drive to finish above the postseason line hasn't subsided in theleague standings.
Fever vs. Sky game is the WNBA's hottest ticket
All eyes will be ontonight's matchupbetween the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever, as the two teams go head-to-head for thefourth and final timethis season.
Indiana currently sits in seventh place with Chicago following in eighth — the table's lowest playoff-bound position. Recent results, however, have separated the two teams by a marked distance, as theFeverhave won four of their last five games while thestruggling Skyhave gone one for six.
Regardless of who wins, the game will go down in front of what's sure to be a packed house, with ticket resale prices averaging in thehigh-$800s.
Clark, Reese square off in WNBA Rookie of the Year showdown
Tonight's lineup will also featurethe final game between the twoRookie of the Year frontrunners: Indiana's Caitlin Clark and Chicago's Angel Reese, who are both trying to push their squads over the finish line.
Clark leads the league in assists and has already broken the record forthree-pointers madein a rookie season, while Reese — the current league-leader in rebounds — recently tied Tina Charles's rookiedouble-double recordwith 22.
While both have excelled in different areas, the Indiana rookie has the edge over her rival in points per game, with Clark's 18.0 average eclipsing Reese's 13.3.
Other noteworthy WNBA weekend matchups
First-place New York and fifth-place Las Vegas will look to move past their surprise upsets this week in their Friday night games against fourth-place Seattle and ninth-placeAtlanta, respectively.
After falling to the Fever on Wednesday, the third-placeConnecticut Sunwill aim to regain composure against a momentum-fueled Mystics team on a three-game winning streak — their longest this season.
Claire Watkins
Aug 30, 2024
The 2024 Paris Paralympicskicked off on Wednesday, with swimming, wheelchair basketball,dancing Phrygian Caps, and moretaking center stagethis week.
With 549 medal events spanning 22 sports, a record 4,400 athletes from 168 delegations, plus the most women's sports athletes and events in competition history, this year'sParalympicsare capping off an exceptional summer of international sports.
How the Paralympics work
An international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, the Paralympics operates separately from theOlympic Gamesdespite sharing a host country as well as most venues. Some sports — likeswimming,track,basketball, andvolleyball— have direct Olympic counterparts, while other sports likebocciaandgoalballare unique to the Paralympics.
According to theUS Olympic and Paralympic Committee, para-sport athletes must have at least one of these 10 eligible underlying conditions to qualify for the Games: impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency, leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment, or intellectual impairment.
Athletes then square off indifferent classificationsbased on the type of disability they have — visual, physical, or intellectual — as well as how much their disability impacts their ability to compete in the event.
Swimmers start Team USA's medal haul
The US earned their first three medals on Thursday — all silver and all inwomen's swimming. Ellie Marks earned her silver in the 50-meter freestyle S6, Christie Raleigh-Crossley took silver in the 50-meter freestyle S10, and Grace Nuhfer took silver in the 100-meter butterfly S13.
On Friday, Team USA Paralympic swimmer Gia Pergolini won gold in the 100-meter backstroke S13 race, claiming first place ahead of Ireland's Róisín Ní Ríain and Italy's Carlotta Gilli. Also on Friday, Ellie Marks medaled again, capturing silver in this morning's 200-meter individual medley SM6.
Also making history this week was wheelchair rugbyplayerSarah Adam, who became the first woman Paralympian to compete forTeam USA in the sport.
Masters, Long lead Team USA at the Paris Paralympics
US Paralympic legendOksana Mastersreturned for the Paris Games, carrying the torch in Wednesday's Opening Ceremony. Next week, she'll hit the pavement in theH5 Road RaceandH4-5 Individual Time Trialpara cycling events.
With 29 Paralympic medals to her name, decorated Team USA swimmerJessica Longis also back at this year's Games. She plans to compete in four events at this year's Paralympics: Saturday's 100-meter backstroke S8, Sunday's 200-meter individual medley SM8, Wednesday's 400-meter freestyle S8, and the following Saturday's 100-meter butterfly S8.
Joining them in Paris is Rio Paralympic gold medalist and Team USA's lead scorer in wheelchair basketball that year,Becca Murray, whocame out of retirement to help her squad better their Tokyo bronze medal performance. Her team beat Germany 73-44 in group stage play earlier today.
Another Tokyo standout, Katie Holloway Bridge,will attempt to guide the US sitting volleyball team to a third-straightParalympic goldafter earning tournament MVP in the 2021 Games. Team USA sitting volleyball fell to China 3-1 today in their first pool stage match.
Claire Watkins
Aug 29, 2024
Much like the league's top teams,individual NWSL MVP contenders continue to make their mark coming out of theOlympic break.
KC Current forward Temwa Chawinga now tops the2024 Golden Boot race, having scored her season's 13th goal last weekend against the Spirit. In that same game, Washington midfielderCroix Bethunetied Tobin Heath's single-season assist record with her 10th of the year.
Stacked field means big choice for award voters
With so many deserving candidates,2024's MVP award-winnercould come down to whichever factors voters value the most.
Chawingasits first in the league in goals scored and second in assists this season, finding the back of the net against nine different teams along the way. But Orlando forwardBarbra Bandaisn't far behind. Banda scored one less goal in four fewer games played than Chawinga, all while guiding the Pride to an unprecedented unbeaten streak.
Bethunelikely has Rookie of the Year on lock, but she's also on the MVP watchlist with five goals and 10 assists in her debut season.
USWNT attackers also in the NWSL award hunt
Another steady presenceon the leaderboard,2022 MVPSophia Smith has racked up 10 goals and six assists for the Thorns so far this season, while USWNT teammate Trinity Rodman has also kept herself award-relevant, registering her season's sixth goal last weekend.
This season's attacking firepower has truly set a new standard, leaving many worthy award candidates likely to garner votes by the timeNWSL Championshipweekend rolls around.
Claire Watkins
Aug 29, 2024
Throughout the 2024 NWSL season,four teamshave consistently risen above the pack, and two of them are set to close out thisweekend's lineup. No. 1 Orlando will take onNo. 4 Gotham FCon Sunday at 6 PM ET, when the Bats' upward surge meets the Pride's record-breakingunbeaten streak.
Top four clubs maintain healthy NWSL table advantage
After Gotham beat Portland last weekend, seven points separate fourth and fifth place in thestandings— the largest gap league-wide.
Orlando, Gotham,No. 2 Washington, and No. 3 Kansas City have been the season's top performers, with Portland taking a distant fifth. Those four teams currently sit on 34+ points, the first time inNWSL historythat more than one club has reached that markin a single season.
Those top spots provide more than just bragging rights. While eight teams will make the postseason, the regular season's top four finishers earning quarterfinal home field advantage.
Kansas City Current look to right their season's ship
While Orlando, Washington, and Gothamlook to maintain their commanding play, Kansas City is hoping to bounce back aftertwo-straight lossesspoiled a franchise-record unbeaten streak.
The Current will face another big test on Sunday, taking on No. 6 North Carolina — a team hungry for redemption after last weekend's stoppage-time loss to 12th-place Seattle.
Mid-table NWSL teams hope to shift league standings
The mid-table race is heating up with No. 9 Angel City and No. 10Bay FCaiming to leapfrog into playoff contention via weekend matches against No. 7 Chicago and Portland, respectively. Both California clubs sit just one point below the cutoff line, with a restructuredRacing Louisvillecurrently in eighth place.
Currently in 11th place, San Diego will also try to climb the ranks, despite Sunday's tough odds against a red-hot Spirit side.
