Big Ten Goes 30-2 in First Weekend (Who Goofed Up?)

The Big Ten’s first weekend of competition is history, and, for what it’s worth (we’re not really sure, given the uneven level of competition) the league was very sucecessful. Overall, Big Ten teams combined for a 30-2 record. Eight of the teams recorded perfect 3-0 records — the Big Ten’s August 30th Weekly Release lists all of them, but we’re lazy, and will simply note that Purdue lost to Northern Iowa 3-2 in West Lafayette, Michigan lost to Toledo 3-2 in the final of the Rocket Classic, and Northwestern played only two matches, winning them both.

Given the overall record, it’s not surprising that Big Ten teams won nine of the 11 invitationals in which they participated this past weekend (the Big Ten’s Weekly Release lists them all; again, we’re too lazy), with four Big Ten teams finishing in the top 25 of this week’s AVCA Division I Coaches Poll; Penn State (#1), Illinois (#6) and Minnesota (#9) all ranked in the top 10.