Golfers Kansas-bound for NCAA tournament
After a successful regular season, the No. 54 Spartans travel to Manhattan, Kan. this weekend for the NCAA Central Regional Championships.
MSU, which has finished in the top 10 in all but one of its 11 tournaments this year, will contend with 26 other teams for rights to advance to the NCAA Championships for the first time in 10 years.
Last season's team central regional champion, Purdue, did not qualify for this year's tourney but the Spartans still will see many familiar faces as Minnesota, Illinois, Northwestern and Ohio State represent the Big Ten on the links.
The top eight teams in the three-day event will travel to the national championships, held May 27-30 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.
Crew looks to build on success, overtake U-M
MSU finished strong to end the year, placing second in the Big Ten Championships and earning a bid to the NCAA Central Championships held Saturday and Sunday in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
The Spartans posted a conference tourney best with 123 points, equal to that of Michigan, but the Wolverines were awarded the championship title because they had finished higher than MSU in a previous race.
Among teams selected for the NCAA Central tourney, MSU is ranked second overall, third in first varsity eight and first in second varsity eight.
The top team from the region will receive an automatic invite to the NCAA Championships, while the remaining spots will look to be filled with at-large bids. The championship tourney begins May 30 at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis, Ind.
Hurlers close season, honor past Spartans
The Spartans close out the regular season this weekend with a four-game series against Penn State. On Friday the Spartans host the Nittany Lions at 7 p.m. at Oldsmobile Park, 505 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing. Saturday MSU returns to Kobs Field for a twin bill beginning at 1 p.m. and the two teams close out the series Sunday with a 1 p.m. matchup.
Sunday will also feature a ceremony in which the Spartans will retire the first two numbers in team history. Former head coach Danny Litwhiler (1) and Baseball Hall-of-Famer Robin Roberts (36) will be honored during pre-game festivities.
Litwhiler, MSU's all-time most winning coach, compiled a 488-362-8 record from 1964-82 while leading the Spartans to Big Ten Championship wins in 1971 and 1979.
Roberts played both baseball and basketball for MSU from 1946-47. A 20-game winner for six consecutive seasons while pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976. Roberts collected 286 wins in 19 major league seasons.
Dawn Klemish
