Although Summers’ wasn’t wearing the shirt, his scintillating dunk was a metaphor for MSU’s success during the tournament — a 6-foot-4 guy fearlessly throwing his body right at the chest one of the nation’s best shot blockers.

Perceived as underdogs, the Spartans were considered stepping stools for the “powerhouse” programs in each of the past three games. It wasn’t until North Carolina knocked them off in the national championship gam that MSU’s journey ended.

Although they fell a game short, the Spartans and their fans will always have memories like Summers’ dunk.

Breakout team: MSU football

After years of heartbreak and despair, the MSU football team finally made its return to relevancy this season. Under the stewardship of second-year head coach Mark Dantonio, the Spartans made their first New Year’s Day bowl game since 2000. Although they lost the game to Georgia, it certainly doesn’t negate MSU’s accomplishments this season.

MSU went 9-4 this year, and the team’s success was punctuated by the fact Dantonio signed arguably the best recruiting class in school history. The success both on the gridiron and on the recruiting trail ensures the success won’t be short-lived.

Best hardware: Franklin Gomez’s national title

Returning to the NCAA Championships as the favorite after finishing third in the 133-pound weight class last season, junior wrestler Franklin Gomez completed his goal, winning the national championship 5-4 over Ohio State’s Reece Humphrey.

A takedown with 45 seconds left in the match sealed the win for the two-time All-American, giving him MSU’s first wrestling title since 1995.

Player of the year: soccer’s Doug DeMartin

While there have been many worthy candidates this year, no one meant more to their team than senior forward Doug DeMartin.

DeMartin led the Spartans to the school’s first Big Ten regular season title and was MSU’s go-to man up top.

The captain and All-American was an offensive machine, scoring a league-high 17
goals en route to being named the Big Ten Player of the Year.

He was drafted No. 22 overall in the MLS SuperDraft by the Kansas City Wizards.

Without DeMartin’s explosive speed and strength in the air, it’s unlikely that the MSU men’s soccer team would have had such a magical season.

Senior who will be missed the most: hockey’s Jeff Lerg

It was a season the MSU hockey team would like to forget. But but MSU hockey fans will never fail to remember senior goaltender Jeff Lerg.

The tiny, 5-foot-6 goaltender defied all odds throughout his career at MSU and gave the Spartans a chance to win every time they stepped on the ice.

Lerg was instrumental in MSU’s national championship run in 2007 and head coach Rick Comley named him the captain of this year’s team, an oddity only seen once before in school history.

This season, Lerg was peppered every game and led the country in saves with 1,050 and became the CCHA’s all-time saves leader. He also won the Lowes Senior CLASS Award for his achievement on and off the ice.

Lerg gave everything for the team, playing with a torn ACL for the last two weeks of the season.

If you think this year was tough for the MSU hockey team, imagine how bad it could have been without Lerg.

It’s hard to picture anyone else between the pipes for the Spartans and Lerg will forever be remembered as one of the finest netminders to ever don the Green and White.

Best individual performance: Nolan Moody’s no-hitter

The game really didn’t need any more luster. The MSU baseball team was opening its new multi-million dollar stadium on a beautiful April afternoon molded particularly for a ballgame. Its inaugural home conference game was a large enough obstacle for senior pitcher Nolan Moody who, a year ago, was throwing an inning or two out of the bullpen at the most.

But that day, the Spartans’ ace was unhittable.

Moody twirled more than seven innings of perfection before surrendering a walk. But before all was said and done, a 2-0 victory and a piece of MSU baseball history was in the books. On a day the righthander said he’ll never forget, his teammates had nothing to do but play defense behind him and watch in admiration.

“We were trying with maximum effort to catch every ball we could to keep the no-hitter alive,” junior outfielder Eli Boike said. “But that was the best college pitching performance I’ve ever seen in my career. It was really amazing.”

Breakout player: Jack Newman

Wearing the same MSU golf gear he dons in college tournaments, Jack Newman stepped into the tee box in golf’s most famed tournament against some of the most recognizable names in the game.

And he held his own.

The MSU junior fell just three strokes short of the weekend cut at the Masters in August, Ga. during the first week in April as the lone MSU golfer to ever participate. He shot four over par for the first two rounds after qualifying for the tournament by winning the 2008 U.S. Amateur Public Links Tournament in July.

Playing with former Masters winner Fred Couples and nine-time PGA tour winner Rocco Mediate, the Des Moines, Iowa, native shot a 33 — the third-best score — on the back nine on Thursday with four birdies on the last five holes. His score of 148 in the two rounds was the best score among U.S. Amateurs since 2005 and earned him a spot in already his second PGA event — the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill., in July.

Already with a walk up and down the links of Augusta, this Spartan could some day bring a new style to the meaning behind the green jacket.

Best moment: men’s soccer vs. Northwestern

The rallying call was simple: “This year is for Coach Baum.”

When head coach Joe Baum announced his retirement after 32 years at the reins of the soccer program, the his team was determined to send the face of MSU soccer out on top.

And they did just that.

After being picked to finish fifth in the preseason Big Ten polls, the Spartans came out of nowhere to win the first Big Ten Championship in school history.

The stage couldn’t have been better for the Spartans to lock up the regular-season crown. It was Baum’s last home game in front of hundreds of former MSU soccer players who gathered to honor their former coach. And the Spartans were matched up against heavily favored Northwestern.

But they prevailed and defeated the Wildcats 1-0.

When Baum gave his farewell speech after the win, it was hard not to get choked up. He devoted his entire life to this university, and it was a perfect ending to a fabled career.

Freshman of the year: soccer’s Laura Heyboer

When setting foot on campus, freshmen are usually timid and shy of their new surroundings.

This wasn’t the case for freshman forward Laura Heyboer.

Heyboer brought a physical, in-your face style to the MSU women’s soccer team and exploded for 21 goals to lead the Spartans and the Big Ten. The next closest player in the conference had only 12 goals.

Heyboer also became a vocal leader of the team and showed off her ability to score from anywhere remotely close to the net.

Her presence for the next three years is sure to bring many more goals, and accolades, to the women’s soccer team. Keep your eye on Heyboer, she’s sure to make this list again in years to come.

Best team: men’s basketball

The rowing team, which had two boats ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten Championships, deserves a shout-out, but the men’s basketball team warrants a boatload of the praise. MSU’s thrilling run to the Final Four captivated a nation, inspired a city and engrossed a school.

After bulldozing through arguably the nation’s best conference from top-to-bottom and sweeping the individual postseason awards (sophomore guard Kalin Lucas won Big Ten Player of the Year, senior guard Travis Walton won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and head coach Tom Izzo won Big Ten Coach of the Year), the Spartans knocked off a pair of No. 1 seeds (Louisville and Connecticut) before their loss to North Carolina in the national championship game.

Best personality: Travis Walton

Senior guard Travis Walton will be remembered not only as one of the best defenders in MSU men’s basketball history, but also as one of its greatest leaders. Walton was on a mission this season to lead the Spartans to the Final Four, and he showed it every time he stepped on the court. Toward the end of the NCAA Tournament, MSU head coach Tom Izzo gave Walton permission to lead the team in pregame prayer and to address the team with inspirational speeches.

Izzo even let Walton make some coaching decisions, an incredible sign of respect for a player who one day wants to become a coach. The defining moment of Walton’s career came after MSU defeated Louisville to advance to the Final Four. When the final buzzer sounded, Walton knelt down in front of the MSU bench and starting bawling his eyes out in both jubilation and relief.

Best game: women’s basketball vs. Duke

The Spartans weren’t even expected to make this game close. With all the pregame talk surrounding the return of former Spartans head coach Joanne P. McCallie, little focus was paid to the game itself. Most figured No. 1-seed Duke would run No. 9-seed MSU out of the gym. The Blue Devils had more talent, more wins, more size, more shooters and more experience.

Then the game started. MSU, playing its third consecutive postseason at Breslin Center, hung with Duke, keeping most of the game within a five-point margin. But with each passing minute, the crowd grew louder. Every time MSU started to make a run, the crowd exploded and Duke shrunk from the pressure. Led by senior Mia Johnson and junior Lauren Aitch, the Spartans closed the game on a 16-2 run over the final five minutes of the game to win 63-49.

The crowd, which rushed the court after the game, was the loudest Breslin has ever seen — and it was only half full. With all respect to the men’s team’s victories over Louisville and Connecticut, this game, played at home in front of a crowd of raucous Spartans fans, rose well above the rest.