7 Division I Teams End Non-Conference Play With Unblemished Records

The non-conference slate for all conferences around the country in Division I have come to a close. Just seven teams escaped the grueling preseason portion of the season without losing a match- Towson (14-0), Minnesota (11-0), Penn State (10-0), Wisconsin (9-0), James Madison (9-0), Florida (8-0) and Miami (6-0).

Of these seven that remained unblemished throughout the opening weekends of the long 2017 season, three are members of the Big Ten Conference. Of Minnesota’s opening 11 matches, only one was a true test for them, Texas, with whom they claimed a four-set victory over. Wisconsin has had it easy as well, sweeping every team they have faced aside from one four-setter against Marquette. Of the three, Penn State’s non-conference slate was the most challenging, as they took on the reigning NCAA Champions, Stanford, twice during the tournament season.

Out of the Colonial Conference, Towson and James Madison are showing their worth this season with untouched records. Towson’s schedule was a run through for the squad, only having to play in one five-setter on their way to the perfect start, winning it over Oakland. James Madison also routed most of their opponents in straight sets or in four, surviving a five-set win over Georgetown.

Florida has been a dominant force on the court this season, downing some tough opponents on their way to an undefeated record. In the teams first contest of the season they downed the then-ranked #1 Texas followed by the then-ranked #5 Nebraska. Continuing down the line, they faced three more ranked opponents (#16 UNC, #21 Michigan State and #19 Florida State) to post one of the most challenging non-conference lineups in the country. Miami started off the season with strong performances in their first two tournaments. From there, Hurricane Irma thwarted the remainder of their preseason play, sending them straight into conference play.

Outside of the perfect records, there were 14 squads that faltered just once to open up the season.

Now the conference season starts up, with team’s now beginning a new section of the season, where they are vying for their conference tournament and looking to improve upon their opening record.

Below you can see all NCAA Division I non-conference team records.