The MSU baseball team won its home opener against Concordia on Saturday, but was denied the chance for a sweep when Sunday's game was called because of bad weather. Junior center fielder Dennis Jones went 2-for-4 in Saturday's win, including a two-run single in the seventh that put MSU up for good.
Grand Rapids — Once the Spartans regained their breath, celebration ensued. While watching failed attempts at scoring empty-net goals and Notre Dame controlling with a six-on-four power play in the final seconds, MSU fans and players could only hope to cling onto the 2-1 lead. When the puck trickled by a Notre Dame defenseman and into neutral territory, everybody knew it — with their 2-1 victory over the No.
The MSU softball team played at the Miami (Ohio) Invitational over the weekend, splitting Saturday's day one by defeating Youngstown State, 14-0, and falling to Purdue, 7-3.
The women's tennis team fell to Purdue on Saturday by a score of 7-0 in its second straight road loss. Seniors Sarah Andrews and Jessica Baron won each of three doubles, 8-3, earning their first Spartans victory. MSU rebounded and won, 5-2, Sunday in its first Big Ten victory of the season at Illinois to close out the weekend play. "I'm very excited about the win," MSU head coach Erica Perkins said in a written statement.
The MSU men's tennis team posted wins on Saturday over Bradley and Valparaiso in a doubleheader, improving the team's record to 9-10. In game two of the afternoon, the Spartans clinched a 5-2 victory after winning five of six singles matches.
The Detroit Lions are reportedly getting a lot of interest for their No. 2 spot in the upcoming NFL Draft. But many teams are balking at the Lions' asking price for the pick — a new general manager. Steve Alford left Iowa last week to take the head coaching position at New Mexico State. Alford is reportedly going to keep taking jobs in time zones farther west until he goes far enough back in time that his haircut is in style again. Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander has struggled mightily in spring training and says he isn't sure what's wrong at the start of his second pro season. But rumors are already circulating that like teammate Joel Zumaya's Guitar Hero-induced wrist injury, Verlander might be feeling the effects of his obsession with Dance Dance Revolution. Florida head coach Billy Donovan enlisted former professional wrestler Ric Flair to give his team a pep talk before its Sweet 16 game against Butler last week. The strategy backfired in the game's opening minutes, however, when Joakim Noah, picked up a technical foul for hitting Butler's A.J.
The only glamorous thing about the No. MSU gymnastics team's 195.500-195.325 victory over N. C.
Opposing wide receivers might want to keep some breath mints handy. MSU's defensive backs plan on getting very up-close and personal next season. The secondary, one of the most maligned units on the MSU football team during the last few seasons, is revamping its philosophy and relying more heavily on press coverage, in which defensive backs make contact with receivers at the line of scrimmage in order to disrupt their routes. "It messes up timing more than anything," secondary coach Harlon Barnett said Friday after spring practice.
Grand Rapids — Sophomore goaltender Jeff Lerg was supposed to let Hobey Baker goaltending candidates Notre Dame's David Brown and Boston's John Curry control the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional at Van Andel Arena. Instead, it was Lerg who looked like he was vying for college hockey's top honor, as he stopped 46-of-48 shots in two games.
Grand Rapids — They weren't supposed to beat Boston on Friday night, and God forbid if they did, there was no way they were going to beat the top-seeded Fighting Irish on Saturday to punch a ticket to the Frozen Four in St.
THEY HAVE: Rhett the Terrier WE HAVE: Sparty the … Spartan? THEY HAVE: Campus located parallel to the Charles River in Boston, Mass. WE HAVE: Campus along the Red Cedar River in East Lansing, Mich.
Grand Rapids — It shouldn't surprise many people that Boston and MSU have similar hockey teams.
With the dust settled and the smoke cleared, the NCAA Tournament's trip to East Lansing is considered a success on all fronts. MSU hosted the first and second rounds of the women's tournament at Breslin Center this past Saturday through Tuesday and led all eight cities hosting opening-round games in attendance. Reported attendance • East Lansing — 21,340 • Pittsburgh — 21,181 • Hartford — 20,714 • Raleigh — 12,372 • Minneapolis — 12,218 • Austin — 11,697 • Stanford — 4,111 (No reported first-round attendance) • Los Angeles — 3,386 • Along with the attendance numbers, approximately 200 members of the media held credentials, according to MSU Sports Information.
Now that the MSU basketball team's season has come to a close, it's time to hand out some awards. Most likely to say something that can't be printed in The State News without heavy editing — sophomore guard Travis Walton Walton is pretty tame when he's speaking at the podium during post-game press conferences, but if you're in earshot when the Spartans huddle up before taking the court, prepare for some fantastic sound bites.
The MSU hockey team prepares to play Boston tonight in Grand Rapids in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Athletes probably get used to being overlooked when they're 5-foot-6. But not sophomore goaltender Jeff Lerg. Lerg, who was named the team's Most Valuable Player on Monday, may be forgotten among Hobey Baker candidates such as Notre Dame goaltender David Brown and Boston goaltender John Curry.
The locker room is empty. The equipment is packed away. The players are on hiatus for two weeks — "13 1/2 more days than last year," head coach Tom Izzo said. The season is over for the MSU men's basketball team — a grueling campaign that saw the Spartans go from preseason doormat to a few minutes away from a Sweet 16 berth. "The biggest problem now is where do we go?" Izzo said Wednesday at his year-end press conference.
What started out as a joke has now taken on a sort of truth for junior defenseman Daniel Vukovic. When Vukovic scored his first goal of the season to lift MSU in a come-from-behind victory over Miami (Ohio) on Jan.
State News women's basketball reporter Matt Bishop discusses the women's basketball team's loss to Rutgers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, how this season will be remembered and the situation surrounding head coach Joanne P.
After a record-breaking performance Sunday, Spartans gymnast Kristen Coleman was named Big Ten gymnast of the week on Wednesday. The senior from Cornwall, Ontario, Canada broke her own all-around performance record against Western Michigan with a 39.625 tally, a full point higher than her previously set school record. Coleman set a personal high on floor exercise Sunday with a 9.950, her highest individual apparatus score of the night.