Wisconsin athletics: rankings and award updates for 2/2/21

As all of the relevant polls have now been released for this week let’s take a quick whip-around the Wisconsin Badgers athletic department and see where the two hockey teams and the volleyball team are ranked.

Men’s Hockey

The Badgers (11-7-0 overall) keep on moving up and are now ranked No. 11 in the USCHO.com poll. UW now has seven wins in their last 10 games and will be headed north to the Twin Cities, along with the women’s team, to take on the Gophers this weekend.

Minnesota is ranked No. 2, behind top-ranked Boston College, and Michigan is ranked No. 7 as the only other Big Ten teams. Should be a real good weekend of hockey between the Badgers and Gophers.

Cole Caufield and Dylan Holloway were named the First and Second Big Ten Stars of the Week for their performances against Michigan State this past weekend.

Caufield had four goals and seven points in the two-game series and extended his point streak to 10 games (nine goals, 10 assists) and his goal streak to five contests (seven goals). Holloway had two goals and four assists against the Spartans and has a six-game point streak (three goals, eight assists) and five game multi-point streak himself.

Women’s Hockey

After a bye week, the Badgers (8-2 WCHA) are still ranked No. 1 earning all 15 first place votes in the USCHO.com poll. The Gophers are sitting at No. 2 and the two teams will get the chance to settle this on the ice in the Twin Cities this weekend. Although, to be fair, the Badgers already swept the Gophers in Madison soooooo it kinda seems like it was decided already.

Ohio State is No. 4 and Duluth is No. 6 and are the other two WCHA teams in the rankings.

Volleyball

After another dominant weekend on the court, the Badgers (4-0 Big Ten) are still ranked No. 1 in the nation garnering 48 out of 60 first place votes.

The Texas Longhorns (14-0) are No. 2 and the Kentucky Wildcats (10-0) are No. 3 and are the only two other teams getting first place votes. Nebraska (No. 4), Minnesota (No. 6), Penn State (No. 9), Purdue (No. 13) and Michigan (No. 23) are the other Big Ten teams that are ranked this week. Ohio State and Illinois are receiving votes.

Lauren Barnes was also named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after her stellar performance against Illinois.

She posted 31 total digs, averaging 4.43 digs per set, in two wins versus Illinois including a career-high 20 during the Saturday match. She was aced only twice in 47 service receptions, posting a 96% reception percentage. This is her first ever player of the week award.

Wrestling

The Badgers (1-3 overall) lost a tight dual to No. 7 Nebraska, 22-15 on Sunday.

Despite the loss, the Badgers actually moved UP one spot in the newest NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll to No. 17. The Big Ten is as well represented in the top-25 as ever with Iowa at No. 1 (receiving all 14 first place votes), Michigan at No. 2, Penn State at No. 4, Nebraska at No. 7, Illinois at No. 9, Ohio State at No. 11, Minnesota at No. 13, the Badgers at No. 17, Purdue at No. 18, Michigan State at No. 23 and Rutgers at No. 24.

Wisconsin is back in action Tuesday (today!) afternoon at 4 p.m. CST against the Nittany Lions in another top-ranked matchup.