They call it March madness for a reason.
The home stretch for winter athletics has arrived for the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Titans, with basketball, gymnastics, wrestling and track and field seasons all coming to a climactic close in the days and weeks ahead.
To keep you in the loop with all that’s happening in Titan athletics, here’s a sport-by-sport roundup of the latest news. For deeper dives, stats and more, visit UW Oshkosh Athletics.
🏀 Women’s basketball in Sweet 16
The UWO women’s basketball team opens its third consecutive NCAA Division III Sweet 16 appearance against nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace University (Ohio) on Friday in Whitewater. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. in sectional host UW-Whitewater’s Kachel Gymnasium.
The Whitewater Sectional also features UW-Whitewater playing Smith College in a battle of nationally ranked programs at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Friday’s winners then play at 7 p.m. Saturday for the right to advance to the Final Four that will be held March 17 and 19 in Pittsburgh.
UWO (21-6) is the only unranked team at the Whitewater Sectional as Baldwin Wallace University (23-4) is 10th in the D3hoops.com poll, UW-Whitewater (25-4) 12th and Smith College (25-2) 16th.
For those looking to watch Friday’s game with fellow Titan fans, Titan Underground in Reeve Union will have the game on the big screen.
Learn more at UWO Athletics.
🤸♀️ Titan gymnastics team wins second straight WIAC title
UWO outscored UW-Whitewater by less than one point during the final event rotation to successfully defend its title at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Gymnastics Championship Saturday in Whitewater.
UWO and UW-Whitewater entered the final rotation tied with a score of 144.550. The Titans then outgained the Warhawks, 47.750-47.325, on the balance beam to capture its 16th WIAC championship in program history.
UWO, which went unbeaten against its Division III opponents during the regular season, won this year’s conference title with a school-record score of 192.300. In addition to their score on the balance beam the Titans also had team results of 48.80 on the uneven bars, 47.975 in the floor exercise and 47.775 on the vault. UWO established school and Division III record with its score on the uneven bars.
Saturday’s conference gathering also served as the West Region qualifier for the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association Championship that will be held March 26 at Ithaca College in New York. The top three teams from the WIAC Championship, UWO, UW-Whitewater and UW-La Crosse, along with several qualified gymnasts, advanced to the NCGA meet.
Learn more at UWO Athletics.
🏀 Titan men fall in second round of NCAA tournament
Case Western Reserve University (Ohio) got an offensive rebound and go-ahead layup from Cole Frilling with nine seconds remaining as the Spartans stormed back from a sizeable second half deficit to defeat the nationally ranked UWO men’s basketball team, 77-74, during the NCAA Division III Championship Oshkosh Regional final Saturday in Kolf Sports Center.
Case Western Reserve University (20-6), which is making its Division III Championship debut, trailed by as many as 16 points on two occasions early in the second half before whittling its deficit to 51-48 midway through the period. The Spartans later forged ties at 55, 57 and 60 until they reclaimed their first lead since the first two minutes of the contest at 62-60 with 4:08 left following a pair of Frilling free throws. Frilling’s eventual game-winning basket in the paint and two makes at the charity stripe represented his only four points of the night.
UWO led 41-27 at halftime and held its largest leads of 16 points at 43-27 after a Cole Booth layup 14 seconds into the second period and again at 45-29 following a Plamann layup with 18:07 to play.
The Titans were making their sixth consecutive and 11th overall trip to the NCAA postseason.
Learn more at UWO Athletics.
🤼♀️ Three Titans ready for NCAAs
Jordan Lemcke, Preston Morgan and Beau Yineman will each make their debut on the national stage when they represent UWO at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships this weekend in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Action is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday from the Alliant Energy Powerhouse.
Wrestlers qualified for the Division III Championships by finishing among the top three in their respective weight classes at one of six regional sites.
Lemcke finished second in the 285-pound weight class at the Upper Midwest Regional held Feb. 25-26 in Eau Claire while Morgan and Yineman placed third at 165 and 197 pounds, respectively.
Learn more at UWO Athletics.
🏃 Men’s indoor track and field wins WIAC Championship
The depth of the UWO men’s indoor track and field program was on display as the Titans totaled 35 top eight finishes, including five event victories, to capture the team title at the WIAC Championship held Friday and Saturday in Platteville.
UWO amassed 172 points during the championship to surpass the second place total of 128.5 by 19-time defending champion UW-La Crosse. The Titans, who finished second at the 2020 championship before the 2021 league meet was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, previously won WIAC titles in 1971, 1973, 1989, 1999 and 2001. UWO’s margin of victory at this year’s championship was the largest in program history.
UWO, which ranks first nationally in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s NCAA Division III Indoor Rating Index, reached this year’s overall scoring output with the help of 25 points in the 200-meter dash, 24 in the 60-meter dash, 21 in the triple jump and 17 in both the 400- and 800-meter runs.
The Titans will perform in last chance national qualifiers at Ripon and Wartburg (Iowa) colleges March 4-5 before participating at the Division III Championship on March 11-12 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Learn more at UWO Athletics.