Nation’s Best Teams Converge in Columbus this Weekend – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | General
COLUMBUS, Ohio The Ohio State University athletics campus will be buzzing this weekend with numerous top-flight matchups in an array of sports. In all, seven teams ranked in the Top 10 of their respective sports will be in action in Ohio State facilities, including a pair of reigning national champions.
Friday and Saturday, the men’s and women’s hockey teams welcome the defending NCAA champions, each for two-game series. The men skate against No. 6 Michigan State, the 2007 National Champ, at Value City Arena. The game Friday starts at 7 p.m. and the puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The women face off against No. 5 Wisconsin, the two-time defending NCAA champion, at 7 p.m. Friday and follow Saturday at 4 p.m.
Also on Friday, wrestling returns for its first home match in more than a month against top-ranked Iowa. The meet will be the Buckeyes second vs. the No. 1 team in the country in less than a week. Ohio State knocked off then-No. 1 Penn State last weekend.
The Iowa dual includes four matchups between Top 10 wrestlers in the nation, including Ohio State’s J.D. Bergman, the No. 2 ranked heavyweight, and fellow Buckeye Mike Pucillo, No. 3 at 184 pounds. Bergman and Pucillo are a combined 37-2 on the season. The Iowa-Ohio State match is scheduled for a tape-delay broadcast on the Big Ten Network at 9:30 p.m. Friday.
Friday also will serve as the debut for Ohio State’s new Varsity Tennis Center as the No. 3 rated men’s team plays host to the Ohio State Invitational vs. Indiana, Kentucky and Maryland. The tournament runs Friday through Sunday at the new Columbus facility on Henderson Road.
Saturday, the ninth-ranked men’s volleyball team encounters No. 3 Penn State at St. John Arena. Just a short distance from St. John, the new McCorkle Aquatics Pavilion has a full slate scheduled. Synchronized swimming, the national runner-up in 2007, opens the day at 1:30 p.m. with a tri-meet that includes Michigan. Men’s swimming, rated 13th, and women’s swimming both will be challenged by Michigan State and Eastern Michigan at 5 p.m.
Women’s basketball, ranked as high as 16th in the country, gets the weekend rolling vs. Illinois at 7 p.m. Thursday in Value City Arena. The Buckeyes close the home stand vs. Wisconsin at noon Sunday. Big Ten Network will carry the game vs. Wisconsin live.
For news, scores and schedules, visit www.OhioStateBuckeyes.com
