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Sports

SPORTS

Ducks prove too tough; U falls in semifinals

Chris Mackinder
March 25, 2002

Eugene, Ore. - Hope of a Women’s National Invitation Tournament title came to an end Saturday for the MSU women’s basketball team. The Spartans (19-13) lost 65-54 to Oregon (21-13) in the WNIT semifinals. Playing in front of 5,304 fans at McArthur Court in Eugene, Ore., gave the Ducks a decisive advantage. “They had a great crowd tonight with a lot of energy tonight,” sophomore forward Julie Pagel said after Saturday’s game.

ICE HOCKEY

Mason exits ice, leaves legacy

James Jahnke
March 25, 2002

Ann Arbor - It really was a pretty strange ending. As it turned out, longtime MSU head coach Ron Mason concluded his career Friday afternoon with a 2-0 loss to Colorado College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Yost Ice Arena. The loss, particularly so early in the tournament, was surely disappointing for Mason - a 62-year-old, super-competitive, old-school coach who will become MSU’s next athletics director on July 1.

BASEBALL

The hitting machine

Andrew Fifer
March 25, 2002

With a keen eye and a swift bat, Bob Malek has made a name for himself on the baseball field.The junior right fielder raised eyebrows last season when he set MSU’s single-season hits record at 88 and boasted a .427 average at the plate.For the two-time All-American, winning is what matters most.“I just want to win,” Malek said.

SPORTS

MHSAA plans for girls seasons unveiled

Ryan Wallace
March 22, 2002

The Michigan High School Athletics Association presented three working plans Thursday to make boys’ and girls’ sports seasons equal.But none of the plans included changing the seasons for girls’ basketball or volleyball.Tom Wilson, the initiator of the Michigan Gender Equity Team, said the plans are not fair.“I don’t think it will work,” Wilson said, referring to all of the plans.

ICE HOCKEY

Spartans have high hopes for tournament

James Jahnke
March 22, 2002

Junior goaltender Ryan Miller is trying to inject his fellow Spartans with his personal postseason motto - national championship or bust. “You want to win and you have the will to win and you express that and hold it as an ideal,” Miller said.

ICE HOCKEY

Tigers present classic rematch

James Jahnke
March 21, 2002

Senior defenseman Jon Insana remembers being overwhelmed during MSU’s game against Colorado College in the NCAA Tournament West Regional in Madison, Wis., on March 28, 1999. MSU was trailing the Tigers 3-2 late in the third period and, with less than two minutes separating the Spartans from a disappointing end to their season, emotions started to burst out. “I remember (former defenseman Brad) Hodgins on the bench, literally in tears,” said Insana, who was a freshman at the time.

SPORTS

Women rewriting records as McCallie works with just 9 players

Chris Mackinder
March 21, 2002

After the Spartans defeated DePaul 87-76 in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament it was clear MSU had finally meshed. It was sophomore forward Julie Pagel’s 20th birthday, and the entire MSU team gathered at midcourt to sing “Happy Birthday.” “I wish the team would do more of that,” Spartan head coach Joanne P.

SPORTS

Grapplers ready for NCAAs

Andrew Fifer
March 21, 2002

The 2002 NCAA Wrestling Championships start today in Albany, N.Y., and five Spartans are looking to claim titles. Senior Chris Williams and juniors Karl Nadolsky, Gray Maynard, Rashad Evans and John Wechter will take the mat representing the green and white on the national stage. It will take five-straight decisions for each Spartan to claim the NCAA Championship, but a top-eight finish is enough to garner All-America honors. Spartan head coach Tom Minkel is confident each wrestler has a chance at becoming an All-American. “I think all five of them have the potential to have an outstanding NCAA Tournament,” Minkel said. Last season, the Spartans sent five wrestlers to nationals and four returned with All-America honors - graduate Pat McNamara, junior Nik Fekete, Williams and Maynard. Nadolsky (24-12) was the only Spartan participating in last year’s nationals not to earn All-America honors.

SOCCER

NCAA considers overtime rule change

Ryan Wallace
March 21, 2002

A new proposal by the NCAA may change the way overtime games in men’s and women’s soccer will be decided.During its annual meeting in February, the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Soccer Rules Committee proposed to eliminate ties by shortening the sudden-victory overtime periods and implementing penalty kicks if the game has not been decided.Currently, men and women play two 45-minute halves.

SPORTS

Spartans prove their versatility

Chris Mackinder
March 21, 2002

With another high-scoring win against Alabama on Tuesday night, the Spartans continue to prove they can win playing both offensive and defensive styles of basketball.Early in the season, the MSU women’s basketball team (19-12) was known for shutting down its opponents defensively.

SPORTS

Juniors look for title

Andrew Fifer
March 20, 2002

One year ago, junior John Wechter made himself a promise - he would compete at the 2002 NCAA Wrestling Championships. In 2001, Wechter placed eighth at the Big Ten Championships, missing nationals by just one spot. “I just missed qualifying and I had to go watch all my teammates compete,” Wechter said.

BASKETBALL

Coaches plan to break down Torberts play

Dan Woike
March 20, 2002

With another MSU recruit, Rochester High’s Paul Davis, becoming the latest Mr. Basketball award winner Monday, next year’s Spartan men’s basketball team will likely include the state’s past three winners - Davis, freshman guard Kelvin Torbert and sophomore guard Marcus Taylor. But the state’s highest prep accolade doesn’t guarantee instant success as a Spartan, and MSU head coach Tom Izzo said Torbert will spend the off-season working on returning his game to an elite level. “I think he’ll make some improvements and hopefully, they’ll be big improvements,” Izzo said.