MADISON, Wis. — They sat together in a collective daze, the silence broken only by muffled tears and brief words of encouragement. Members of Wisconsin's softball team knew this feeling was a possibility — more probable than most were willing to admit, perhaps.
Still, as the din of televisions continued overhead inside a downtown Buffalo Wild Wings, the sting of missing out on the NCAA tournament as a bubble team didn't lessen one bit.
This was supposed to be a tournament watch party, but it certainly wasn't much of a celebration.
"It was pretty emotional," Badgers coach Yvette Healy recalled. "You could tell the kids that were emotionally invested and wanted it, they took it really hard. We talked about that as motivation of saying, ‘Remember this day. Make sure you really know what this feels like because if you want something this badly, it's not just about working hard, but you really have to be emotionally invested.'"
Consider Healy's message received.
Nearly one year later, Wisconsin has put itself in position to reach its first NCAA tournament since 2005. And this time, there shouldn't be any debate as to whether the Badgers deserve inclusion.
On Wednesday, Wisconsin stated its case even further by sweeping a doubleheader from Northwestern to improve to 35-9 overall and 12-5 in the Big Ten. In the process, the Badgers established a new program record for single-season victories.
Though Healy will give credit to players for investing so much into the team, players are quick to point out it is Healy who has changed the culture of the program. In the three years before her arrival, the Badgers were 50-111 (.310 winning percentage). Healy's record in three seasons at Wisconsin is 99-51 (.660 winning percentage).
"All three of our coaches have done a great job with us," Badgers pitcher Cassandra Darrah said. "They're very positive. I think that's kind of the turning point in the program. They'll get on us, but they're very positive about it. They can talk to us as people. They spend so many hours in the office doing work for us. I would give coach Healy a ton of credit."
Healy was a two-time All-American softball player at DePaul and earned her first head coaching job with Loyola (Ill.) University from 2004-10. In 2007, she was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year. Healy, a Chicago native, said one of the keys to success at Wisconsin was securing commitments from players in the Midwest who understood the core values of the program. It is a model Healy said athletic director Barry Alvarez has often discussed. Alvarez used the same system to turn around Wisconsin's football program as coach in the early 1990s.
Of the 11 underclassmen on Wisconsin's roster Healy has been responsible for recruiting, four are from Wisconsin, four are from Illinois and one is from Minnesota.
"You need great talent from all across the country, but you need kind of the heart and soul of your program to be from the Midwest," Healy said. "That's one change we've been trying to make."
Though the underclassmen have provided a lift and represent the team's future, several upperclassmen are most responsible for Wisconsin's remarkable season.
One of the key contributors has been junior Mary Massei, who is batting a team-best .427 with six home runs and 32 runs batted in. Massei's batting average is 40 points higher than that of the Badgers' next-best player, senior Kendall Grimm.
Massei, from Chino Hills, Calif., committed to Wisconsin under the team's former coaching staff, determined to be a part of turning the program around. But this is her first year being fully healthy, including during the offseason. Two years ago, she underwent surgery for thyroid cancer and couldn't lift weights because she was balancing her medications. She also has dealt with surgeries on both legs for compartment syndrome and could only rehab last offseason.
Now, Massei is having the best season of her career, even though she already ranked first in program history for batting average (.333).
"I notice even a difference in getting stronger," Massei said. "I'm just progressing every day with weights, doing cleans and stuff like that. It's definitely a confidence booster when you're just getting stronger and can feel yourself getting healthy."
Massei is one of six Badgers batting over .300 this season. As a result, Wisconsin ranks second in the Big Ten in batting average (.308) behind only Michigan.
But the team's success can be attributed to balance because Wisconsin's pitching staff has been equally impressive. The Badgers rank second in the Big Ten in earned run average (1.85) behind Nebraska.
This season, Wisconsin has rotated pitchers Darrah (20-5) and Meghan McIntosh (11-4). Darrah, a junior from Corydon, Iowa, has 58 career victories at Wisconsin. Darrah credited her performance this season, in part, to a new film system that allows her to watch each pitch of every game.
"We can watch our body to see if we've done something wrong," she said. "I try to look at every single pitch. Some days I'll just look at changeups or curveballs depending on what didn't work that day or what worked really well just to compare. I probably spend three hours a week looking at it."
Everything has come together this season to amount to Wisconsin's best softball team in program history. The 2005 team that reached the NCAA tournament got in with a 29-24 record, and that team never even cracked the top 25 national rankings.
This year, Wisconsin has been in the top 25 for the first time since 2002 — the Badgers are currently ranked No. 27 in the USA Today/NFCA top 25 poll. Perhaps more important, Wisconsin is ranked No. 27 in the latest Ratings Percentage Index polls with victories against top-25 RPI teams Stanford and Nebraska. As a means of comparison, Wisconsin's RPI last season was No. 53 with no top-25 RPI victories.
There are certainly no guarantees the Badgers will make the NCAA tournament, of course. Wisconsin must play six games against Indiana and Michigan State before beginning the Big Ten tournament. But the Badgers like where they stand.
As for whether the team will hold another NCAA tournament watch party?
"We hope to," Healy said. "You make sure down the stretch you've got a shot before you set something like that up."
If Wisconsin continues its winning ways, players should leave the viewing party much happier this year.
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