Hodag History - 2002
The Hodags all thought that 2002 would be a rebuilding year after the loss of half the team, but with the return of Matt Bruss from Oregon and under the leadership of Zach Morrison and Peter Rank the team refused to go down without a fight. The Hodags simply played under a much tighter rotation. 2002 would see the Hodags suffer defeats in many early season tournaments, only to have the season turn around at the Big Ten Championships in Illinois where the Hodags would start a 20+ game winning streak. The winning streak would include a regional championship, the first since 1996 over regional rival Carleton. The Hodags streak continued until the final day of the college season where they lost the championship game to Stanford University, after a thrilling semifinal victory against Carleton.