As the MSU volleyball team (6-10 overall, 1-7 Big Ten) returns home to battle Wisconsin and Northwestern this weekend, it isn't focusing on winning and losing, head coach Chuck Erbe said. "We're not measuring our victories in wins and losses," Erbe said.
When you look at a score sheet from an MSU men's soccer game, it's strange when you don't see the names of three players - senior midfielders John Minagawa-Webster and Jordan Gruber and junior forward Ryan McMahen.
The MSU women's soccer team will try to build off its win at Oakland on Sunday when the Spartans host Michigan at 3 p.m.
Losing at Michigan last Saturday "sucked" according to senior forward Veerle Goudswaard. After the 1-0 overtime loss for the No.
The MSU men's tennis team heads to Ann Arbor for the Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Midwest Men's Regional Championship Thursday through Tuesday. Freshmen Brian Compton and Adam Monich will play Friday in the qualifying rounds.
So I'm sitting through my first MSU basketball practice and I'm surprised by what I see. Guys are hitting the floor hard every two seconds.
For most football teams, there is an air of judgment that comes with the bye week. It can be bad for a team on a winning streak because the time off can potentially erode that positive momentum.
After a split this past weekend with St. Lawrence and New Hampshire, the No. 9 MSU hockey team will travel to Marquette to play Northern Michigan. An oddity of the Wildcats' home, the Berry Events Center, is that it hosts an Olympic-sized ice sheet.
Back in high school, MSU volleyball freshman setter Maggie Griffin was the girl who got pegged with the nickname "Jolly." As in, the Jolly Green Giant. At 6 foot, Griffin was easily the tallest girl in school, but she didn't mind the nickname - it was being tall that helped her play the game she loved so much. In her first season at MSU, Griffin already has proven her worth as a powerhouse on the court, despite being a rookie to college sports, head coach Chuck Erbe said. "She's a special player," Erbe said.
Each new basketball season is an opportunity for unproven players - young and old - to rise up, play more minutes and have a greater impact. This season, sophomore power forward Delco Rowley and sophomore center Drew Naymick are prime candidates to fill that role in the Spartans' frontcourt. And with an eager, talented batch of freshmen big men new on campus this season, Rowley and Naymick must step up while the opening is there. "I'm looking forward to those two coming in and stepping up and playing in these games because I've told them that this is the time to do it," junior center Paul Davis said.
With its 12th place finish at the Pre-NCAA Invitational this past weekend, the MSU men's cross country team has found itself in the national rankings, as the Spartans sit at No.
Senior bandit and captain Tyrell Dortch's story has been well documented. Dortch came to MSU as a running back, and the next season he switched to cornerback but a horrendous injury almost ended his career.
The No. 23-ranked MSU men's golf team is in second place after the first day of the Duke Classic.
A small quantity of hockey season tickets are still available to the general public. The tickets, which are renewable, are good for the remaining 19 games, including three CCHA playoff games. The bench-seat tickets cost $342 each ($294 for MSU employees) and are located in the east and west ends of Munn Ice Arena. Also available are Spartan Hockey Mini-Plan tickets.
Hello boys and girls, the letter of the day is 'S.' S is for the Spartans, who beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers silly this past weekend. S is for score, as MSU scored 51 points, while the Gophers could only manage 17, less than a certain baseball team. S is for Stanton, as in Drew, MSU's sophomore quarterback who amassed a ridiculous 410 total yards in offense against the then-No.
He's the first "true" point guard the MSU basketball team has had in three years, he's the 2004 Mr. Basketball Award winner from Michigan, and he's expected to play a big role on this year's team. He's freshman guard Drew Neitzel, and he's got a lot of pressure to be the next great Spartan point guard and the answer to their recent problems at that position. "This is a national stage, and it's the reason you come here," Neitzel said.
The MSU men's soccer team snapped a two-game losing streak Sunday with a 3-2 overtime victory over Michigan in front of a U-M record 2,306 fans at the Michigan Soccer Field in Ann Arbor. MSU got on the board first when senior midfielder John Minagawa-Webster got ahold of junior forward Ryan McMahen's corner kick and put it into the U-M goal.
It does not take Tom Izzo long to identify his team's shortcomings last season. Oddly enough, they are among the principles Izzo has established as trademarks of MSU basketball as he heads into his 10th season as head coach. "We will defend this year," Izzo said last Wednesday at the team's media day.
For wrestling co-captain Andy Simmons, anything less than taking first at the NCAA Tournament will be a disappointment. Simmons has set the bar high for himself for the 2004-05 season and knows that in order to achieve that mark, it will take work. "I know I'm going to work my butt off," he said. The NCAA rankings for this wrestling season have not been announced yet, but Simmons already is planning his move up.