Oct. 30, 2007
This Week
The sixth-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team (14-3, 4-2) will travel to Columbus, OH, for the Big Ten Tournament and play sixth-seeded Indiana (8-9,1-5) Thursday at 1 p.m. (CT). If the third-seeded Hawkeyes advance to the semifinals, they will be matched against the winner of the Michigan State/Northwestern game.
The semifinal games, on Friday are at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. (CT) and will be televised live by the Big Ten Network. The championship game Sunday will be televised by CSTV. It will be shown on tape-delay Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 5 p.m. (CT).
Indiana (8-9, 1-5)
The Hoosiers opened the 2007 season with a fast start. After their first five games they found themselves with a record of 4-1. They played defending NCAA runner-up, Wake Forest, to a close game, but fell 2-1.
Indiana has played all six conference games close but have managed only one win. Their one win came against Northwestern, 2-1. The Hoosiers lost one goal game’s to Ohio State, Iowa (in overtime) and Michigan. They were shutout by Penn State and Michigan State by a score of 2-0.
Sophomore Meg O’Connell leads the Hoosiers with six goals. Senior Meredith Brown leads the team with nine assists.
Last week, Indiana beat Stanford in overtime 2-1, lost to No. 13 Louisville in overtime 3-2 and beat Northwestern 2-1.
Last Week
The Hawkeyes defeated Northwestern (4-13, 0-6) 3-1, in a non-conference game on Grant Field. Sophomore Meghan Beamesderfer, junior Caroline Blaum and senior Adrienne Dybus eached scored goals.
Iowa then closed the regular season with a 1-0 loss to No. 7 Michigan State. The Hawkeyes managed to hold a high-powered Spartan squad to a season-low six shots.
Big Ten Tournament
Michigan earned the first seed, by going undefeated (6-0) in the conference. They will receive a first-round bye and will play the winner of fourth-seeded Ohio State and fifth-seeded Penn State.
Michigan State clinched the second seed by defeating the Hawkeyes, 1-0 on Grant Field. The Spartans will play seventh-seed Northwestern in the first round. And will play the winner of Iowa and Indiana.
The Hawkeyes earned the third seed in the Big Ten. They will play Indiana in the first round.
Big Ten Round-up
Michigan – The fifth-ranked Wolverines finish the season with an overall record of 14-5. They defeated the Hawkeyes in 3-2 in double overtime, in the conference opener. This is Michigan’s first regular season conference championship since 2004, when it tied Iowa and Michigan State for first. The Wolverines are tied with Penn State for the most tournament titles (4).
Michigan State – The seventh-ranked Spartans finished the season with an overall record of 15-4. They defeated Iowa, 1-0, with their goal coming from a penalty stroke. Michigan State’s last Big Ten Tournament title was in 2003.
Penn State – The ninth-ranked Nittany Lions finished the season with an overall record of 12-6. The Hawkeyes defeated Penn State in overtime, 2-1. Lauren Pfeiffer scored the winning goal on a penalty stroke. The Nittany Lions are tied with Michigan for the most Big Ten Tournament title’s (4). Their last coming in 1998.
Ohio State – The Buckeyes finished the season with an overall record of 6-11. Iowa beat Ohio State, 2-1. Ohio State won its only Big Ten Tournament championship in 2001.
Northwestern – The Wildcats finished the season with an overall record of 4-13. Iowa defeated Northwestern twice this season, 5-1 and 3-1. The Wildcats have not won a Big Ten Tournament championship and have won only three tournament games.
2006 Big Ten Tournament
The fifth-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes stormed through the field and claimed their second Big Ten Tournament Championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Lauren Pfeiffer carried the Hawkeyes past fourth-seeded Michigan, 2-1 in overtime, first-seeded Ohio State 2-0 and third-seeded Penn State, 2-1 in the championship game. Pfeiffer was named tournament Most Valuable Player. She recorded five goals during the tournament, equaling her regular season total.
Tournament Repeat
Three out of the five Big Ten teams to win the league tournament have won in back-to-back years. Iowa and Ohio State are the schools that have not done so. Iowa’s first Big Ten Tournament championship came in 1994 and the second in 2006. Ohio State’s only title came in 2001.
Penn State won the tournament from 1995-1998, Michigan won in 1999-2000, 2004-2005 and Michigan State won in 2002-2003.
Iowa’s Big Ten Tournament History
The Hawkeyes won their second Big Ten Tournament championship in 2006. Their first tournament championship came in 1994.
Iowa has been apart of seven Big Ten Tournament title games.
Iowa has recorded the second-most tournament victories in the Big Ten with 15. Penn State leads with 16.
14 Win Season
The Hawkeyes earned their 14th victory with a 3-1 win over Northwestern. This marks the most wins Head Coach Tracey Griesbaum has recorded. She currently has a record of 94-57 while at Iowa.
Grant Field – A Tough Place to Play
Iowa came close to an undefeated record on Grant Field this season. The team went 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten at home, increasing the overall record on Grant Field to 116-28 and the conference record to 53-16.
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