The NCAA women's basketball field has been set, and there is a taste of Wisconsin sprinkled throughout the 64-team bracket.
UW-Green Bay, a No. 12 seed, will travel to Ames, Iowa, and take on fifth-seeded Virginia (21-9) of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Sunday. Tipoff is 6:21 p.m., with the survivor meeting the winner of the Iowa State-Lehigh match-up set for 8:30 p.m.
If the Phoenix (27-4) can register two upsets, it would vault them into the Sweet 16 and a probable match-up with the overall No. 1 seed, Connecticut, which is unbeaten (33-0) and has notched an NCAA record 72 straight victories.
Wisconsin plays a first-round game Sunday as well. The Badgers, drawing a No. 7 seed, lock horns with Vermont in South Bend, Ind. The Catamounts went 26-6 in the America East Conference this year, while Lisa Stone's Badgers were 21-10 in the Big Ten. Tipoff is 11:21 a.m.
The Wisconsin-Vermont winner advances to a match-up with either the host school, Notre Dame, a No. 2 seed, or 15th-seeded Cleveland State. The Vikings earned the automatic berth out of the Horizon League by winning the league tournament in Green Bay over Butler on Sunday. Cleveland State is coached by former UW-Stevens Point standout and River Falls native Kate Peterson-Abiad.
The NCAA Women's Final Four takes place April 4 and April 6 in San Antonio.
Bob currently does play-by-play at Time Warner Cable Sports 32, calling Wisconsin Timber Rattlers games in Appleton as well as the area high school football and basketball scene. During an earlier association with FS Wisconsin, his list of teams and duties have included the Packers, Bucks, Brewers and the WIAA State Championships.
During his life before cable, Bob spent seven seasons as a reporter and producer of "Preps Plus: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel High School Sports Show."
And the joke is, Bob has a golf shirt from all four Milwaukee television stations. Sad, but true: Bob has had sports and news anchor/reporter/producer stints at WTMJ, WISN, WDJT and WITI.
His first duty out of college (UW-Oshkosh) was radio and TV work in Eau Claire. Bob spent nearly a decade at WEAU-TV as a sports director and reporter.
You may have heard Bob's pipes around town as well. He has done play-by-play for the Milwaukee Mustangs, Milwaukee Iron, and UW-Milwaukee men's and women's basketball. Bob was the public address announcer for five seasons for both the Marquette men and women's basketball squads. This season, you can catch the starting lineups of the UW-Milwaukee Panther men's games with Bob behind the mic.
A Brookfield Central graduate, Bob's love and passion for sports began at an early age, when paper football leagues, and Wiffle Ball All Star Games were all the rage in the neighborhood.
