Varsity - The Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics

Varsity - December 19, 2013

Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.

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7 Gophers in late October. "He thinks of anything possible to get our com"I think that's when the team realized, 'This is real petitive juices flowing," Carlini said. "He knows that … we can do some damage.' After that, we kicked it we have to be that team that fights for everything." into gear. We've had some losses, but I don't think Carlini is hoping to take the fight to Texas. There we've had a bad loss, per se." will be a sleepless night or two in Seattle before Sheffield learned something about his team bethen. The Longhorns bear some physical similarities fore a 3-2 loss at Nebraska in early October. to that "Phi Slamma Jamma" Houston team. "These guys love big stages, man," he said. "You're "Their outside hitters are probably touching 11 playing in front of almost 9,000 feet and that's not an exaggerafans and I'm sitting there watchSheffield "They're "HE THINKS OF ANYTHING POS- tion," big (at thesaid. and very ing them come out of the locker really net) SIBLE TO GET OUR COMPETITIVE physical." room and you see the look in their eyes …" Sizing up the JUICES FLOWING," CARLINI SAID "Perfect. It's whatdraw, he said, It was the look, Sheffield said, we want." OF SHEFFIELD. "HE KNOWS THAT that shouted out one thing: "All This is real, it's on now. right, it's on now." "The moment," he said, "is WE HAVE TO BE THAT TEAM THAT Citing the maturing competinever too big for those teams FIGHTS FOR EVERYTHING." tive spirit of his players as the that win it all. There's a confiseason played out, Sheffield dence and swagger about them said, "It didn't matter who we played … these guys and they're able to execute." haven't backed down to anything." Or anybody. Texas has won 27 of 29 matches and obviously To Sheffield's thinking, he said, "It's not experilooms as the favorite. But the makeup of this UW ence, it's a belief in yourself and each other." team was best expressed by Carlini, who won't turn The Badgers may lead the country in such intan19 until late February. gibles, he added proudly. "I like challenges," she said. WATCH: BADGERS DESCEND ON SEATTLE 31

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