Thursday, January 15, 2026

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Sports

SPORTS

Field hockey nabs 2 international recruits

The MSU field hockey team signed two players to National Letters of Intent for 2005-06. Inge Sijpesteijn, a defender from Wassenaar, Holland and Floor Rijpma, a midfielder and forward from Bunnik, Netherlands will be joining the Spartans this fall. Sijpesteijn has been playing field hockey since she was 7 years old and will participate in the Europe Indoor Hockey Cup in the Czech Republic in March. Rijpma has been playing field hockey for seven years.

SPORTS

Spartans continue hunt for Big Ten crown

After two big victories at home last week, the Spartans had their third player named Big Ten Player of the Week this season. Junior forward Liz Shimek was named Co-Player of the Week with Minnesota's Janel McCarville for her performances in the two wins against Northwestern and Illinois. During the two games last week, Shimek averaged 21 points, 7.5 rebounds, four assists and 2.5 steals.

SPORTS

Izzo: Neitzel 'likely' to start again

Freshman guard Drew Neitzel will likely get his second career start 8 p.m. Wednesday against Ohio State, MSU head coach Tom Izzo said on Monday. Izzo benched senior guard Chris Hill, who has struggled shooting the ball for most of the Big Ten season, on Saturday when MSU (15-4 overall, 6-2 Big Ten) played at Iowa. "I don't think I'm going to change that yet," Izzo said.

SPORTS

2 ex-Spartans named to Pro Bowl roster

Two MSU alumni will participate in the 2005 NFL Pro Bowl this weekend in Honolulu. Muhsin Muhammad, of the Carolina Panthers, will join Ike Reese, of the Philadelphia Eagles, as an all-star for the NFC. Muhammad, a wide receiver who also appeared in the 2000 Pro Bowl, led the NFL in receiving yards with 1,405 and touchdown receptions with 16 during the 2004 season. Reese, who plays linebacker and special teams, will be playing in his first Pro Bowl.

SPORTS

Vicari's 82 saves on weekend earns honor

Sophomore goaltender Dominic Vicari was named CCHA Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season after stopping 41 shots Friday and Saturday - 82 out of 85 shots the entire weekend were against No.

SPORTS

Still streaking

What looked to be another easy win for the No. 10 MSU women's basketball team at halftime turned into a hard-fought victory over Illinois, 68-59. The Spartans (20-3 overall, 9-2 Big Ten) took a 12-point lead into halftime after leading by as many as 17 in the half, but Illinois (13-8, 5-6) came out strong in the second half, and cut the lead to as close as two points before the Spartans put this one away. "The team showed a lot of heart and fight down the stretch," MSU head coach Joanne P.

BASKETBALL

Spartans hold off Hawkeyes from late rally, win 75-64

Iowa City, Iowa - MSU had been in this situation before, letting a lead slip away in the second half on the road. But this time, senior guard Tim Bograkos stepped to the free-throw line with a three-point lead over Iowa with more than a minute left. With 15,500 Iowa fans screaming and Iowa on a 13-4 scoring run to control the momentum, Bograkos didn't worry about the pressure.

SPORTS

Section's complaints need to be left at door

As I sat inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena 10 minutes before tipoff, about 80 members of the Izzone student section paraded around the outskirts of the Iowans' court chanting "Go state." The Izzone's white looked awkward in the sea of yellow and black, but its antics finally got the nearly 300 members of the Iowa fan section, the Hawk's Nest, to stand and rally around their own school's pride. Izzone members marched around the upper part of the arena for nearly an hour, and even though they were just a small group, they could still be heard throughout the arena - a comforting feeling for the Spartans. "It's always nice to come to an opposing court and have 100-200 fans there," head coach Tom Izzo said after the game.

FOOTBALL

MSU alumni to play in Super Bowl on Sunday

MSU will be well represented this weekend at the Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., as three former Spartans are in the Sunshine State preparing for this weekend's battle. Philadelphia's Mike Labinjo and Ike Reese will be going up against fellow Spartan alumnus Jim Miller from New England on Sunday evening when the Eagles face the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. Labinjo spent his first 14 weeks with the Eagles on the practice squad, but was brought up to the active squad because of another player's injury mid-December.

SPORTS

Spartans see success at Breslin

Wins at home are key to winning any sports championship and, Breslin Center has been a place that has been very good to the Spartans this year. The MSU women's basketball team (18-3 overall, 7-2 Big Ten) enters tonight's game ranked No.

SPORTS

MSU football inks 24 recruits for '05 class

MSU head football coach John L. Smith welcomed 24 new members to the Spartans family Wednesday afternoon, the first day for recruits to officially sign with a university. Speed, combined with the ability to hit, is the name of the game according to Smith, and that is the type of player he went after. "It's a real hard game," Smith said.