EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – Head women's basketball Coach Tonja Englund and the UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team have released the Blugolds' 2015-16 schedule.
The Blugolds will kick off the 2015-16 season in Madison in an exhibition match-up with the Badgers. This will be the first meeting between the two squads. Eau Claire will also face Division II Winona State, who finished 20-8 in 2015.
"Playing at Wisconsin will be a great experience for our student-athletes," said Englund. "For some of our players, it will be a chance for them go back to the venue where they competed for a state championship and now play there as a collegiate athlete."
Eau Claire will again have a tough non-conference schedule, with each opponent having a winning record in 2015 and will feature four teams that made NCAA post-season appearances: St. Norbert, Luther, North Central and DePauw (2007 and 2013 National Champions). The Blugolds will also face UW-Superior, the reigning Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champion, as a non-conference opponent as the Yellowjackets will join the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) next season.
This season the Blugolds finished 16-10 after boasting the 20th strongest schedule out of 440 NCAA Division III women's basketball teams. Eau Claire finished second in the WIAC with an 11-5 conference record.
"We really want to challenge our team with a difficult non-conference schedule," said Englund. "We play in one of the best conferences in the nation and we know that this schedule will prepare our team for WIAC play. It's our goal each year to put together the best possible schedule that will test our team."
