By Nick Hurwitch For The State News The MSU men's ultimate Frisbee team, Burning Couch, competed at the 2006 Ultimate Players Association, or UPA, College Championships for a third straight year, last weekend in Columbus, Ohio. The event featured 16 of the best men's and women's teams in the country.
Wrestling head coach Tom Minkel recently added the finishing touches to this year's freshman recruiting class by announcing the signing of three Michigan natives. The recruits include John Fulger from Montrose, Blake Mesyn from Clinton Township and Joel Trombly from New Baltimore.
Lansing — The Lugnuts began an hour early Wednesday after their game on Tuesday night against Battle Creek's Southwest Michigan Devil Rays was rained out. At 6 p.m.
Although his team didn't win a game, MSU men's basketball coach Tom Izzo said working with members of the United States military in Kuwait was an incredible experience. Izzo traveled to Kuwait on about a weeklong trip with other college basketball coaches as part of Operation Hardwood II. He spent time at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, where he helped coach a team of military personnel in a tournament of 12 teams of players from seven military camps. Izzo's team, a group of troops from Camp Patriot located on the Kuwait Naval Base, went 0-5 in the tournament. It was the second time Izzo traveled to Kuwait as part of Operation Hardwood, and he said it was good to go back and spend time with members of the military. "It was good for me to get another dose of reality and get my perspective back," Izzo said at a press conference.
The MSU women's rowing team has raised the bar of green and white excellence by setting a new benchmark at the 2006 NCAA Championship Regatta.
Senior Brad Gebauer and sophomores Jeremy Orr and Nicole Bush all advanced to the NCAA Track and Field Championships, following their performances at the NCAA Mideast Regional Track and Field Championships last weekend. Gebauer, the 2006 Big Ten indoor and outdoor pole vault champion, took first place in the event with a leap of 5.41 meters.
Over the weekend, the MSU women's rowing team broke its own record. The Spartans ended the NCAA Championship Regatta in sixth place overall — claiming the highest NCAA finish in the program's history. Head coach Matt Weise said the team had a lot of which to be proud. "The athletes worked very hard to be ready for this championship, and their hard work paid off in our best team finish," Weise said in a press release. The Spartans' previous high finish was eighth during the 2000 NCAA Regatta. The varsity team was able to compete in the Grand Final on Sunday — marking the first time a Spartan varsity team competed in a national championship race. The winner of the championship was California, defending its team title with a close finish for first, just in front of Brown. Alessa Thomas
The MSU men's and women's track teams will both be participating in this weekend's NCAA Mideast championships in Knoxville, Tenn. The women's team will send five Spartans to compete in numerous events.
Today, the MSU women's rowing team departs for the NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Championships in New Jersey.
MSU sophomore golfer Ryan Brehm tied for 75th at the NCAA Central Regional in Chardon, Ohio. The tournament lasted three days — last Thursday, Friday and Saturday — with a field of 141 student golfers. Competing as an individual, Brehm was the only MSU golfer at the tournament and finished with a 14-over-par 227. The Mount Pleasant-native had his best day on Saturday, shooting a 1-under-par 70.
MSU women's basketball senior guard Victoria Lucas-Perry was named as a finalist for the 2006 USA FIBA Americas U20 Championship Team. After three days of trials, a field of 38 athletes was cut down to 18.
MSU freshman Franklin Gomez and MSU junior Andy Simmons both won national championships in wrestling in the freestyle division at the 2006 University Nationals.
The MSU women's basketball team is switching its talent this year. Freshman Tiffanie Shives announced that she will be transferring from MSU to Gonzaga.
This season, the Spartans' home football game against rival Notre Dame will be nationally televised by ABC.
MSU football player Cole Corey was sentenced Thursday to spend between two and 10 years in prison for possession of a controlled substance Thursday in the Lenawee County Circuit Court. Corey appeared in 11 games for the Spartans in 2005, recording six tackles and returning a kick on special teams.
Lansing — The Lugnuts' Monday night game against the West Michigan Whitecaps was canceled due to rain and will not be made up. The Lugnuts remain a half-game ahead of the Whitecaps in the Eastern division.
Beginning this season, MSU football games will be featured on Detroit's radio station WJR-AM. The station previously broadcast games for the Green and White for 14 years from 1963-76. Former MSU and NFL quarterback Jim Miller will join play-by-play announcer George Blaha and former MSU center Jason Strayhorn on the Spartan Radio Network's football broadcast team. "George Blaha is one of the nation's premier play-by-play announcers, and it's a real positive to be able to add two former Spartans to the broadcast lineup, in Jim Miller and Jason Strayhorn," MSU Athletics Director Ron Mason said in a statement.
Reserve quarterback Domenic Natale announced earlier this month that he would not return to MSU next season. The redshirt freshman had been battling sophomore Brian Hoyer for the backup spot to senior quarterback Drew Stanton but was placed third on the team's depth chart after spring practices. MSU has released Natale from his athletic scholarship to transfer to either Rutgers or Cincinnati, according to MSU Sports Information officials. Natale didn't have any recorded pass attempts in 2005, but he did appear in games.
MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo will return to Kuwait this month to coach troops and foster morale as part of Operation Hardwood II. Izzo first visited the Middle East last August and coached the military team Camp Arifjan to a championship in the eight-team tournament. "My first trip was eye-opening in many different ways and cemented the tremendous respect I have for the men and women of the United States armed forces," Izzo said in a statement.
Victoria Lucas-Perry was invited to try out for the USA Under-20 Women's National Basketball Team.