Lightning didn’t strike twice for the MSU wrestling team this weekend.
After upsetting the then-third-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys 21-10 at Jenison Field House last year, the 11th-ranked Spartans got pummeled 31-3 in a dual meet against the No. 1-ranked Cowboys in Stillwater, Okl; on Sunday.
The lone Spartan wrestler who came away with a victory against the Cowboys was junior Chris Williams, who defeated Oklahoma State wrestler Matt Brown in a 125-pound weight class match.
The squad will next host a doubleheader against No. 17 Findlay at 1 p.m. and Grand Valley State at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
Men’s swimming
The MSU men’s swimming and diving team dropped its conference opener Saturday, losing to Northwestern 108-81 at McCaffree Pool in IM Sports-West.
Sophomore Joe Brennan turned in a stellar effort for the Spartans, finishing first in the 1,000-meter freestyle (9:30.91) and the 500 freestyle (4:38.33).
Other first-place finishes were turned in by senior John Munley in the 200-meter freestyle (1:38.95) and the 400-meter medley relay team of freshman Rick Nichols, senior Mike Tingley, freshman Lars Neubauer and freshman Alex Ebner with a time of 3:27.69.
The team’s next meet is a home contest against Purdue at 5 p.m. Friday.
Women’s swimming
The MSU women’s swimming and diving team didn’t fare much better than its male counterparts, losing to Purdue at McCaffree Pool 128-115 on Saturday.
First-place finishers for the Spartans were sophomore Kate Duncombe in the 200-meter individual medley (2:06.77) and the 200-meter backstroke (2:03.63), junior Ildiko Szekely in the 200 butterfly (2:04.51), senior Jutta Renner in the 500-meter freestyle (5.00.62) and junior Carly Weiden in the one- and three-meter diving competitions.
The Spartans will next host Oakland at noon Saturday.
Women’s gymnastics
The MSU women’s gymnastics team placed third out of three teams at the Michigan State Invitational, held Saturday at The Summit in Lansing.
The Spartans’ score of 191.075 was third behind second-place Central Michigan, who had a final point total of 193.550, and first-place Iowa, who finished with a score of 193.600.
Two Spartans finished first in individual events, as senior Elisabeth Forshier won the vault competition with a score of 9.775, and junior Jane McIntosh won the balance beam with a score of 9.875.
The Spartans will next host Massachusetts at 7 p.m. Saturday at Jenison Field House.
Men’s gymnastics
The 10th-ranked Spartans men’s gymnastics team kicked off its 2001 season by finishing sixth out of seven teams at the Windy City Invitational, held at Illinois-Chicago on Saturday.
Top-ranked Michigan won the meet with a score of 207.550.
Illinois, Ohio State, Iowa and Minnesota rounded out the top five.
Host Illinois-Chicago finished behind MSU in seventh place.
The Spartans were led by junior Jonathan Plante, who finished first in the pommel horse with a score of 9.350. Plante’s score in the pommel horse tied for the best score on any event during the entire meet.
The Spartans will return to action against Illinois and Illinois-Chicago at 7 p.m. on Jan. 27 at Jenison Field House.
Women’s track
The MSU women’s track team opened it season Friday, hosting the Spartan Invitational at Jenison Field House.
The meet was a nonscoring event against Aquinas, Detroit-Mercy and Lansing Community College.
Junior Ann Somerville and freshman Michelle Carson finished first and second, respectively, in the one-mile run. Somerville came in with a time of 4:56.87 while Carson posted a time of 5:07.94.
Spartan runners placed in the top four spots in the 800-meter run, as junior Swanne Gordon won the event with a time of 2:27.91. Junior Katie Bonner and freshmen Nicole Fischer and Megan Harmon finished second, third and fourth, respectively.
Sophomore Sherita Williams won two events during the meet. Williams captured the 60-meter high hurdles with a time of 9.16 and she won the long jump with a jump of 5.60 meters.
The Spartans will compete next in the Red Simmons Invitational on Saturday in Ann Arbor.
