Big Ten Weekly Preview: Minnesota Hosts Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State

Beata Nelson Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

By Dan D’Addona.

The Big Ten had some fireworks last week and will have another stacked weekend of competition.

The biggest meet is a two-day meet in Minnesota. The Golden Gophers will host Michigan, Wisconsin and Penn State in a talent-heavy quad meet on Friday and Saturday.

The women’s showdown will feature No. 3 Michigan, No. 17 Minnesota and No. 18 Wisconsin. The Wolverines have been stellar all season, led by the dominant distance and middle-distance freestyle group of Siobhan Haughey, Yirong Bi, G Ryan and Gabby DeLoof. Catie DeLoof, Taylor Garcia, Clara Smiddy and Vanessa Krause are making their mark as well for the Wolverines.

Beata Nelson has been big for the Badgers and might be in the middle of a couple of pretty epic races.

The Michigan men are ranked No. 7, while Minnesota, Wisconsin and Penn State are ranked as honorable mentions.

On Friday, Iowa faces Purdue in a Big Ten Showdown. The Iowa men are coming off a stunning upset of Minnesota and are looking to keep that momentum going.

On Friday and Saturday, Missouri and Kentucky will join Northwestern at Southern Illinois for a two-day meet.

Arkansas will host Nebraska in a non-conference dual on Friday, pitting two teams with potential against each other. These two teams are often overlooked in their own conferences, so this could be an important meet to bring some momentum back to conference duals for both teams. The Cornhuskers will then face Kansas in another non-conference battle on Saturday.

In another two-day meet, Rutgers will host Georgetown, Pitt and Seton Hall in a non-conference, East-Coast battle on Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, Ohio State will host Mid-American Conference foe Akron as well as Division III power Denison in a double dual.

On Friday, the Illinois women will face Florida International in non-conference action.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use