The UW-Eau Claire basketball teams are gearing up to begin a new season. While the men’s team already has a win under their belt, defeating St. Scholastica 71-52 this past Friday, Nov. 8, the women’s team has a record of 1-1 after defeating St. Scholastica 71-33 and falling to Bethel University 77-54.

Adam Link, a fourth-year guard for the men’s team, said it was exciting to get out on the court after spending much of October in the gym practicing.          

“We were all anxious to get back on the court after a long preseason and we were excited to see what we had,” Link said. “To come out with a win our first game and just even bring more excitement to what the season has in store for us this year.”

Matt Siverling, head coach of UW-Eau Claire’s men’s basketball team, said he saw anticipation in his team to get out on the court, and he is excited to have the opportunity to coach this season.

“Yeah, there’s excitement,” Siverling said. “You get some talent, some guys that want to be here, and you get an opportunity to coach them, and it helps having some guys that have been in the system before to try and help those new guys kind of get acclimated to what we’re trying to do.”

While there is excitement, Siverling said as with any new season, there are some nerves as the players figure out how to work together with new additions to the team. 

“There’s also some nervousness because you never know what to expect, and you’re hoping everything comes together,” Siverling said. “You’re not sure how it’s going to come together, but when it does, it can be pretty special.”

In terms of success, Link said learning to play together as a team, especially with the new players joining, will play a big role in the Blugolds’ ability to beat other difficult opponents this season.

“We have so many new faces on the team, and we lost a couple guys from last year, so just getting out there and seeing what everyone had and being able to play together,” Link said. “I think that’s the biggest thing, playing together and getting reps with each other and as the season goes on, I think we’ll just get better.”

Siverling said developing a strong defense will also be a necessity moving forward if the Blugolds want to stay competitive against tough teams.

“I think one of the things we want to see is consistency, especially on the defense end of the floor,” Siverling said. “Defense is something that you can travel with that can help you stay in games and we’ve been really focusing on that from a game plan standpoint.”

As far as the season goes, Siverling said learning how to be the most efficient on offense will be one of the main focuses this season.

“Giving them an opportunity to work together and finding out what each other’s strengths are and execute on the offensive end of the floor are some of the things that we’re looking for,” Siverling said.

Looking ahead, the men’s team has their next matchup against Aurora at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14 at home. The women’s team will also play a home game against Simpson College on Friday, Nov. 15.

Zenner can be reached at [email protected].