Lansing- Asthma affects more than 14 million Americans, but one Olympian is trying to spread the word that it can be overcome.Two-time tennis Olympic gold medal winner Mary Jo Fernandez, the spokesperson for the Breathe Easier campaign, spoke to local children and their parents about the disease Tuesday afternoon at the Sparrow Professional Building, 1200 E.
Lansing - Despite giving up a first-inning home run Saturday night, the Lansing Lugnuts surged to a 3-1 win against South Bend.Lugnuts right-hander Angel Guzman (5-2) gave up the solo shot to Silver Hawks second baseman Scott Hairston early, but only allowed two more hits in seven innings of work.“From the beginning of the game, I tried to put the ball down,” Guzman said.
The men’s track and field team finished seventh, while the women’s team finished ninth at the 2002 Big Ten Outdoor Championships at Wisconsin. MSU seniors Paul Terek and Ann Somerville had record-setting performances on the second day of competition in Madison, Wis. Terek dominated the decathlon, winning three of five events and totaling 7,829 points - a Big Ten record.
With a four-game sweep of Penn State, the MSU baseball team solidified the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. “We played well.
Individuals from around the college and professional sports world will meet at MSU on Tuesday to discuss minority issues. The seminar is specifically focusing on minorities lack of representation in higher positions, such as head coaching positions. The topics for discussion will include enforcement of affirmative action laws and methods to get more minorities into the athletic program through the graduate assistant ranks. MSU’s football head coach Bobby Williams is one of only four minorities to hold the head coaching position for a NCAA Division I-A football team.
The MSU men’s golf team saved the best for last at the NCAA East Regional, but it still was not enough to advance to the NCAA Championship.The Spartans shot a 301 in the final round of the three-day tournament in Roswell, Ga., on Saturday to finish with a score of 914 overall.
The MSU women’s golf team will make its third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championship on Tuesday at Washington. MSU will be one of 24 teams to battle at the Washington National Golf Club for 72 holes over a four-day span in Auburn. The Spartans made the national tournament with an eighth-place finish in the NCAA Central Regional at Forest Acres West Golf Course in East Lansing. Last year, the Spartans finished in 12th-place at nationals, which was the highest finish in MSU history. MSU will look to improve upon that performance behind the clubs of seniors Emily Bastel and Stacy Snider.
The last home game of the season ended in disappointment for the MSU baseball team.The Spartans (32-17 overall, 12-12 Big Ten) lost 7-6 to the Bowling Green Falcons (27-20) on Wednesday at Kobs Field.MSU entered the sixth inning up 6-2, then proceeded to give up back-to-back home runs to tie the game.
MSU didn’t sit the bench when the NFL needed assistance. In an effort to help improve youth football, the NFL enlisted the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the Red Cross/USOC Sports Training Program and MSU to create manuals for youth and high school coaches. “The objective is to help volunteer coaches,” said John Powell, assistant professor of kinesiology at MSU.
The MSU hockey team didn’t surprise anyone when it announced the signings of two recruits Tuesday.Defenseman Evan Shaw and left wing David Booth, each of whom verbally committed to the Spartans during the winter, officially signed National Letters of Intent last week.
If the difficulty of conquering a task makes the conquest more fulfilling, then the MSU women’s water polo team may have achieved lifetime fulfillment in its water polo careers.The Spartans needed overtime and two sudden-death frames to win their second Women’s National Collegiate Club Water Polo Championship in as many years.
The MSU wrestling team added another state champion to its 2002-03 recruiting class this week.Michael Escobedo of Lake Central High in Crown Point, Ind., signed with the Spartans on Monday.
The varsity four-crew team upset top-seeded Michigan with a time of 7:29.5 en route to its first Big Ten Championship on Saturday May 4.
The softball team finished its season with a 1-0 loss to Michigan at Old College Field May 5. Senior right-hander Becky Gray (13-18) finished just two strikeouts shy of MSU’s all-time strikeout record.
Lansing dropped the first of four-game series to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 9-1 Sunday at Wisconsin. The Lugnuts (16-20) took three of four at home against the first place Michigan Battle Cats before taking to the road. Lansing scored first, after infielder Corey Slavik scored on a passed ball.
The MSU baseball team’s biggest challenge this weekend at Oldsmobile park was Mother Nature.The Spartans (31-16 overall, 12-12 Big Ten) managed to play just two of the four-game series with Ohio State (30-16-1, 16-9) as the rain kept both teams off the field.MSU won 12-5 Friday, then lost 6-4 Saturday.
The men’s and women’s track and field teams have been busy breaking records and claiming new honors. On April 27, at the Hillsdale Relays, sophomore Sarah Adelaine broke the school record in hammer throw with a mark of 168’03”. The mark was good enough for fourth place. On May 4, at the Central Michigan Collegiate, junior Sherita Williams finished first in the long jump.
Coming off a fifth-place finish at the Big Ten Championship, the men’s golf team earned an invitation to play in the NCAA East Regional in Roswell, Ga., May 16-18.
The MSU softball team enters the backstretch of its 12-game road trip fighting for its postseason life, while preparing for finals.“It’s a critical weekend for us in terms of our season,” head coach Jacquie Joseph said.
Ex-MSU assistant and current Marquette men’s basketball coach Tom Crean will now be able to say he has something in common with the late Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Carey, Mike Ditka, Muhammad Ali and Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder. During the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers game at Wrigley Field this afternoon, Crean will lead the crowd in a rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” during the seventh inning stretch. For the past five years, the Cubs have had celebrities from all walks of life lead the crowd in singing, a task Carey had before his passing.