Sluggers drop 4 conference games

The MSU baseball team is off to a slow conference start after falling in four straight games this weekend.

Sunday, the Spartans (5-17 overall, 0-4 Big Ten) dropped the first contest of a doubleheader 5-1 at Minnesota. In the nightcap, the Golden Gophers (14-10, 4-0) won an 11-10 slugfest.

MSU kicked off the Big Ten season Saturday by dropping two games to the Gophers. In the first game, MSU lead 3-0 after its first at-bats, but Minnesota came back to steal an 8-4 victory.

Junior right-hander Bryan Gale (2-4) took the loss for MSU, allowing eight earned runs on 10 hits in five innings on the mound.

Minnesota finished Saturday's doubleheader with a 7-4 win. Spartan sophomore right-hander Tim Day (2-4) worked six innings while surrendering six earned runs on 10 hits.
Dawn Klemish

Gymnasts await NCAA fate after last-place finish

The MSU gymnastics team finished in last place in its performance at the Big Ten Championships on Saturday.

Freshman Sarah Alexander had a team-best outing, tying for fourth on the floor exercise with a 9.9 and placing second on the balance beam with a score of 9.875. Alexander's score of 9.850 on the uneven bars was good enough for an 11th-place tie, while her all-around score was eighth with a 39.325 mark.

"It was very exciting, people were cheering everywhere," Alexander said of her first conference championship.

"Our team had a rough competition, but it was just an off-day, more fluke things that happened than anything else, really. Hopefully we'll have another chance to prove ourselves."

As a team, the Spartans' highest finish was fourth in the floor exercise, tallying 49.125 in the event.

The Spartans now must wait to see if they are selected to compete in the NCAA Regional Championships. Pairings will be announced later this week, with the championships being held April 12 at a to-be-determined location.
Dawn Klemish

Clutten finishes 33rd, 31st in meets

Freshman Ian Clutten competed at the 2003 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving National Championships this weekend in Austin, Texas.

The Capetown, South Africa, native finished 33rd in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of :55.61, and 31st in the 200-meter breaststroke, clocking in at 2:01.52.
Dawn Klemish

Gophers shutout womes's tennis

The MSU women's tennis team remains winless in the Big Ten after dropping a 7-0 competition to No. 38 Minnesota on Sunday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. The Spartans fall to 8-9 overall, 0-5 Big Ten while the Gophers move to 11-5, 4-1.

On Saturday, the Spartans dropped a 5-2 battle to Iowa. Junior Caroline Lay and sophomore Kate Thomas picked up wins in the No. 1 and No. 4 singles spots, respectively, while Lay and sophomore Keri Thompson also snagged a No. 1 win in doubles play.

MSU travels to Indiana on Saturday for its next match.
Dawn Klemish

Spartans defeat Hawkeyes, lose to Golden Gophers

The No. 74 MSU men's tennis team downed Iowa (4-7, 0-4) 4-3 on Friday for its first conference win this season. With the win, the Spartans (10-9, 1-3) halted a six-game losing streak.

On Sunday, MSU traveled to Minnesota for a matchup with the No. 13 Golden Gophers (14-3, 4-1). But the team did not have as much success. Minnesota defeated the Spartans 6-1.
Dawn Klemish