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Sports

BASKETBALL

Healthy Spartans work better

Andrew Fifer
October 16, 2002

Last season, the MSU men’s basketball team lacked enough healthy bodies for intense practices. The Spartans had just eight scholarship athletes on the roster and various injuries - including redshirt junior forward Adam Wolfe’s season-ending injury - forcing walk-ons and others to play minutes they had not earned. Head coach Tom Izzo said practices were played “safe.” This fall, the first three days of practices have been more to Izzo’s liking.

ICE HOCKEY

Team downsizes, falls 3 in rankings

James Jahnke
October 16, 2002

Hockey head coach Rick Comley’s ax finally fell last week, and little-used junior defenseman Mike Porter took the brunt of it. Porter, a 6-foot, 185-pounder, was cut from the MSU team to fulfill Comley’s wish for a 26-man active roster. The 23-year-old Northville native played three games last season, but didn’t register any statistics.

SOCCER

Mens soccer scores victory over Michigan

Dawn Klemish
October 15, 2002

MSU defeated Big Ten rival Michigan 2-1 Sunday in Ann Arbor. With the victory, the Spartans jumped to 8-4 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten, while the Wolverines fell to 4-6-1, 0-3. After an equal first half where each team registered six shots on goal, senior forward Brett Konley broke the tie, floating one past Michigan goalkeeper Joe Zawacki at the 66:36 mark. Two minutes later MSU struck again, this time on a header from junior midfielder Jeff Krass to put the Spartans up by two. MSU faces Notre Dame in its next matchup at 8 p.m.

SPORTS

Field Hockey forward earns Big Ten honor

Sophomore forward Michelle Carstens was awarded Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors Monday after netting three goals in weekend action. The first tally came Saturday in a 5-1 victory over Indiana (3-9 overall, 1-2 Big Ten). Carstens went on to strike twice Sunday during a heated matchup against No.

SPORTS

Mens tennis finishes with six doubles wins

Dawn Klemish
October 15, 2002

The Spartans finished the Minnesota Invitational this weekend with six doubles wins. Two doubles teams, seniors Adam Hourani and Jimmy McGuire, and sophomore Anthony Stefani and freshman Mike Brown, each collected two victories in the tournament on Sunday. The Spartans will travel next to Madison, Wis., after 10 days of rest to compete in the Omni Hotels Region IV Tournament.

ICE HOCKEY

Spartan duo reminisces about playing hockey in Nebraska

James Jahnke
October 15, 2002

CCHA arenas don’t get much farther away from MSU than Nebraska-Omaha’s Civic Auditorium.But they don’t get much closer to home for Spartan hockey players Tim Hearon and Chad Hontvet.Hearon, a junior center, and Hontvet, a freshman right wing, both played their junior hockey in the Cornhusker State.

BASKETBALL

Spartans open up in style

Benita Mehta
October 14, 2002

A jam-packed Breslin Center helped both the men’s and women’s basketball teams usher in the start of the 2002-03 season Friday night.Master of ceremonies Terry “Boom Boom” Braverman got the Midnight Mania crowd riled up, followed by the Spartan Marching Band leading the crowd in the school fight song.San Francisco 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci sent a message to his buddy - men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo - via video screen.“Tonight is the first step to another championship run, Izzo,” he said.

FOOTBALL

Leaders lull

Eric Mckinney
October 14, 2002

Iowa City, Iowa - Saturday’s 44-16 beating at the hands of Iowa provided more than just embarrassment for the Spartans (3-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten), it also opened the door for a possible quarterback controversy. The door was unlocked roughly three minutes into the third quarter when MSU head coach Bobby Williams sent sophomore quarterback Damon Dowdell into the game. On the Spartans’ previous possession, junior quarterback Jeff Smoker fumbled after a 3-yard scramble.

ICE HOCKEY

Goaltenders play gives team encouragement

James Jahnke
October 14, 2002

Omaha, Neb. - Amid the cheering for the victorious Denver Pioneers, one could almost hear the sigh of relief from MSU fans at the Omaha Civic Auditorium this weekend. Very rarely do Spartan fans take any solace from a one win, one loss weekend.

FOOTBALL

Spartan offense sputters, turnovers fuel Iowa win

Iowa City, Iowa - Under rolling gray skies, the Spartans couldn’t weather the Iowa storm on a dreary Saturday in Hawkeye country. Five turnovers coupled with MSU’s worst offensive performance - 249 total yards - the Spartans (3-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) extended their losing streak at Kinnick Stadium to 14 years with a 44-16 loss to a talented Iowa squad (6-1, 3-0). “It’s really very, very hard to play over the number of turnovers we had and give up big plays like we did,” MSU head coach Bobby Williams said. And unless the Spartans begin to execute like the team expected to come out of the preseason, the forecast for the rest of the season is dismal, as MSU still has to play top-ranked programs Michigan and Penn State. “Obviously, they have an up field battle,” ESPN analyst Bob Davie said.

ICE HOCKEY

Team rebounds from first loss

James Jahnke
October 14, 2002

Omaha, Neb. - In the wee hours of Saturday morning, head coach Rick Comley watched the replay of MSU’s humbling 5-0 loss to Denver with a tally sheet in his hand.He was counting the number of turnovers his seventh-ranked hockey team made against the Pioneers in the first round of the season-opening Maverick Stampede on Friday.Comley’s final calculation: 110 MSU giveaways, including 50 by the defensemen, in 60 minutes of hockey.

FOOTBALL

Hype heading into season not being backed up

Say it ain’t so, say it ain’t so. Just six games into a much anticipated season, many are wondering how good is the MSU football team - or how bad? The facts say the Spartans (3-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) are average.

SPORTS

Spartans stay on pace with 2 home victories

Dawn Klemish
October 14, 2002

No. 5 MSU field hockey team had a tough matchup Sunday but came out on top, downing No. 11 Louisville 4-2.With the victory, the Spartans improve to 13-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten this season.“They really put their passing game together today,” head coach Michele Madison said referring to her team.

SPORTS

Women take No. 5 rank into weekend matchups

Dawn Klemish
October 11, 2002

The No. 5 MSU field hockey has compiled an 11-2 overall, 2-1 Big Ten record so far and is looking to finish its final seven games of the regular season the same way it always has - with convincing wins. This season the Spartans have dominated the competition, outscoring opponents 52-9.

SPORTS

Gridiron grades: A midseason report

Eric Mckinney
October 11, 2002

With college football at its midway point and the bye week behind the Spartans, MSU is ready to tackle the second half of its season. But MSU (3-2 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) was expected to be sitting with the big boys by this point in the season, at least according to most preseason predictions. The Spartans were ranked 18th in both preseason polls and selected by the media to finish third in the Big Ten.

SPORTS

Death Ro stays a head of McSkinny with good picks

For the second-straight week, Death Ro one-upped McSkinny. The Pac-10 matchup between Washington State and Southern Cal produced the only loss for Death Ro (19-9). McSkinny (16-12) benefited from Wazzu and Ohio State victories, while he watched his other picks - Wisconsin and Clemson - fall to Penn State and Florida State, respectively. Much to Death Ro’s delight, there aren’t any Pac-10 matchups on the Pigskin Prognosticators’ slate, but they do have four top-25 matchups to debate. MSU vs.