The MSU field hockey squad learned during a preseason scrimmage Saturday that a return trip to the Final Four is going to take a lot of work. "I think sharper is a good word," senior back Alexandra Kyser said.
The MSU volleyball team kicked off its 2003 season Saturday night with the annual Green and White exhibition match at Jenison Field House. "Tonight was our time to showcase what we've been working on all summer and all preseason," junior outside hitter Kim Schram said.
The national spotlight will be casting its light on the Spartan Men's Basketball team many times this season. The Big Ten released this year's conference schedule Tuesday, which includes eight nationally televised games for MSU. The 16-game stretch, which is sandwiched between byes at the beginning and the end of the season, will begin Jan.
MSU football head coach John L. Smith isn't worried about naming starters less than a week before the season opener.
For Joe DeLamielleure, being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame was an honor long overdue. On August 3, almost 18 years after he last donned football gear and stepped onto a professional field, the former MSU offensive lineman was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, an achievement many say was long-awaited and long deserved.
Former MSU basketball star Steve Smith and his wife, Millie, will be lending Sparty a hand in his transition into bronze.The two have been asked to be honorary chairpersons for the $500,000 project, slated to be completed by 2005.
In an effort to increase knowledge about coaching youth sports, MSU is introducing three online courses through the Department of Kinesiology with the first class starting this fall. The courses are part of a new coaching education certificate program at the graduate-school level, but are available to anyone who is a part of the lifelong education program.
What a difference a year makes for the MSU football team.Last August, the team had enormous expectations, alumni and fan anticipation, a Heisman Trophy candidate, an experienced quarterback and a favorable schedule.
Let's play name recognition. In fact, let's make it interesting. If you get this on the first take, I owe you one at the bar. He's from the Midwest.
Fans of MSU or Kentucky basketball without tickets to the schools' Dec. 13 matchup are officially hard-pressed to find a ticket because "The BasketBowl" is sold out.After season-ticket-holders and university donors from both schools claimed the first 50,672 seats, the remaining 19,028 tickets allotted to the general public on July 8 sold out in a span of four days, according to the Ford Field Ticket Office.But there are 5,000, $14-tickets being held for MSU student season-ticket holders, said John Lewandowski, MSU assistant athletic director for media relations. Of that total, 4,000 will be seated next to the court on field level, said Matt Larson, MSU assistant sports information director.Those tickets will be sold in late August, Larson said.
For the MSU volleyball team, the time is now. "If there was any team that is ready to have a breakout year, it's this one," head coach Chuck Erbe said. The Spartans are expected to place in the national top 20 in preseason polls, and were predicted to place third in the Big Ten this season.
In 2002, freshmen led an eight-person MSU women's basketball team to the NCAA Tournament. This season, they're ready to disprove a sophomore slump. Guard Lindsay Bowen and forward Liz Shimek will return for their sophomore campaign as seasoned athletes.
A core of veterans on the MSU men's soccer team say they are determined to make their last year as Spartans count.Nine seniors will grace the men's soccer lineup come fall, something senior goalkeeper Mike Robinson says will give the Spartans an edge."I'm definitely looking forward to this season," he said.
MSU will look like a very different team on offense this season. Gone are offensive stars, including All-American receiver Charles Rogers and the top two running backs Dawan Moss and David Richard.
Twenty-four years after Earvin Johnson brought the "Magic" to MSU with its first national championship, the Spartans plan to honor the NBA Hall-of-Famer with a trophy of his own.A larger-than-life statue of the former Spartan will be erected in front of the Breslin Center and unveiled Nov.
Grand Rapids - Josh Vance plummets to the earth from 20 feet in the air, tucking his legs and executing a flawless double-flip with a half-twist just inches before meeting the platform that sends him rocketing toward the ceiling.
On a midsummer morning in the Dominican Republic, Felix Pie left behind a small, dirt-floor home he shared with his mother, father, sister and three brothers as he decided to spend his day shining shoes at a baseball diamond instead of attending school."It was 7 a.m.
The MSU field hockey team is not satisfied with last year's trip to the Final Four - this year, they aim to take it all.The 2002 season was an exciting one for MSU, as the squad set a school record for most wins in a season (23), went undefeated on its home turf and captured its first Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament Championship with a thrilling 3-0 win over arch rival Michigan, a team they hadn't defeated since 1997.
A new aggressive approach on the defensive side of the ball has the MSU football team puffing up with confidence. Last year, the MSU defense that ranked 83rd overall out of 117 Division I-A teams was hard-pressed to stop the run or sack opposing quarterbacks.
The NHL is welcoming two more Spartans to the professional ranks. But not before they suit up in green and white, and skate out onto Spartan country ice.