MSU graduate guard Julia Ayrault (40) celebrates a score with junior guard Theryn Hallock (4) at the Breslin Center on Jan. 30, 2025.
Michigan State University Athletics may not have dominated the win column this weekend, but teams across the board displayed resilience and talent.
Several of MSU’s top teams—women’s gymnastics, men’s basketball, men’s ice hockey, men’s tennis, and women’s basketball—each suffered at least one loss over the weekend.
Despite the numbers, the teams have had well-rounded performances and the retained the ability to rely on its teammates.
“Coach Izzo talks all season about strength in numbers,” Matt Larson, executive senior associate AD and communications said, “and I think in many ways, that’s kind of playing out across many of our different teams.”
Men’s hockey: Spartans split series, stay atop rankings
MSU faced Ohio State in Columbus on Jan. 30-31, dropping the first game 4-2.
Senior David Gucciardi struck first for the Spartans, but MSU faltered in the second and third periods, unable to mount a comeback.
MSU rebounded on Friday with a commanding 4-1 win over Ohio State.
Four different Spartans found the net in the second game—senior forward Tanner Kelly, junior forward Isaac Howard, sophomore forward Gavin O’Connell, and junior forward Daniel Russell.
MSU won the season series between the two teams 3-1 and the team now stands at No. 2 in the national rankings and No. 1 in the Big Ten.
The team will face off against their rivals, the University of Michigan, next week on Friday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. in Munn Ice Arena. They will then play the second game of their series in Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m.
Women’s basketball: Spartans rebound after first home loss
MSU women’s basketball suffered its first home loss of the season Thursday, falling 63-59 to Oregon in a tightly contested battle.
The Spartans bounced back Sunday, defeating Northwestern 89-75 in Evanston.
The team delivered a strong balanced performance, highlighted by junior forward Grace VanSlooten’s 20-point effort, while four other players also reached double figures in scoring.
“You have got to have a team effort,” Larson said. “I think you see that across a lot of the sports this past weekend, hockey had six different goal scorers, women’s basketball rebounds with that win against northwestern, I think there were five (players) in double figures.”
The team is now ranked No. 16 nationally and No. 4 in the Big Ten.
Next Sunday, Feb. 9 the team will take on their rivals, the Wolverines, in the Breslin Center.
Women’s tennis: Spartans sweep doubleheader
MSU women’s tennis swept its doubleheader against Western and Eastern Michigan.
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The Spartans beat the Broncos in game one with a score of 4-1 and kept their streak alive against Eastern Michigan where they won with a score of 4-0.
The match against Western came down to the singles matches after the Spartans only won one doubles match.
Junior Natalie Stasny gave the team momentum, being the first to finish her singles match, winning 6-0 and 6-1. Senior Liisa Vehvilainen secured the win for the Spartans in her match, winning 6-3 and 6-4
The team is currently No. 13 in the Big Ten rankings and unranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings.
The team will travel to Lynchburg, VA, to play against James Madison University on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 1 p.m. and Liberty on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 11 a.m.
Wrestling: MSU dominates on Senior Day
MSU wrestling dominated Clarion 30-8 on Senior Day at Jenison Field House.
The seniors had an impressive showing with Tristan Lujan (133), Jay Nivison (165), and Marty Larkin (174) each claiming victories.
Lujan kicked off the success for the Spartans with a 7-0 victory, and Nivison maintained the momentum with a 7-2 decision while Larkin earned a 15-0 technical victory.
The team is unranked nationally and is No. 12 in the Big Ten.
Michigan State will hit the road to face off against Northwestern on Friday night and then head over to Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon to face the Badgers.
Men’s basketball: winning streak snapped by USC
On Tuesday, the team took on Minnesota in the Breslin Center and won with a score of 73-51.
After extending its winning streak to 13 games, MSU stumbled in Los Angeles, falling 70-64 to USC on Saturday.
The team struggled to gain and maintain momentum, and their downfall came from their free throws, where they uncharacteristically went 11-for-19 from the line.
The Spartans are No. 7 in the national rankings and No. 1 in the Big Ten standings.
On Tuesday, Feb. 4, the side will remain in Los Angeles to compete with the Bruins at 10 p.m.
Women’s gymnastics: Spartans fall short, set vault record
MSU women’s gymnastics traveled to UCLA, narrowly falling 197.300-197.200.
This was the second time this season that Michigan State managed to break the 197 score and set a program record on vault with a 49.600.
At the halfway point, the Spartans led 98.900-98.500 and continued to climb once they hit the floor, adding 49.300.
However, UCLA’s Jordan Chiles put the meet away in the final floor performance of the meet with a score of 10.
“On one hand the team lost,” Larson said. “On the other hand, it’s the second-best score of the year.”
The team is No. 5 in both the national rankings and Big Ten standings.
MSU will return to East Lansing to take on Minnesota at Jenison Field House on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m.
Track and field: Spartans shine in split meets
Track and field had a split meet this past weekend where the team split up and most of the distance runners headed to the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Indiana and the others headed to Louisville, Kentucky for the PNC Lenny Lyles invite.
The distance medley relays for both men’s and women’s took place on Friday at the Meyo Invitational, and they had a solid outing, with the women’s team finishing second with a time of 11:10.84 and the men’s team finishing first with a time of 9:50.04.
On Saturday, the distance team sustained victories, with freshman Rachel Forsyth finishing second in the women’s mile final with a time of 4:34.02 and senior Kate Stewart-Barnett finishing third with a time of 4:36.30.
Next Saturday, Feb. 8, the team will head into rival territory for the Michigan Invitational in Ann Arbor.
Men’s tennis: tough road trip ends in losses
MSU men’s tennis went to Knoxville, TN, on Friday, where it lost 4-3 to the Vols.
Looking to rebound, the team took to the road again and headed to Clemson, SC, to face Clemson on Sunday, but couldn’t come out with a win and lost 5-2.
MSU stands at No. 16 in the ITA rankings and No. 10 in the Big Ten.
Next Sunday, on Feb. 9th at 1 p.m. the team will take on Boise State in Boise, Idaho.
With winter sports seeing success, spring sports will begin to enter the mix. Women’s golf began its season in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, in the Purdue Puerto Rico Classic on Sunday, Feb. 2, and will continue to compete until Feb. 4.
“I think many of these teams are going to be battle-tested once they get to the postseason,” Larson said. “they’re going to have a wealth of experience to draw upon, which, is certainly key.”
With the season progressing, we can expect softball, men's golf and baseball to shortly follow suit in the coming weeks.
