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Sports | Hockey

SPORTS

Wrestlers come up short of All-American honors at NCAAs

Jesse O'Brien
March 18, 2012

Before six members of the MSU wrestling team left for St. Louis to participate in the NCAA Tournament beginning on Thursday, competing junior heavyweight Steve Andrus said he felt there was no reason all six wrestlers couldn’t come back with All-American status. However, by Friday night, each of the Spartan wrestlers had been eliminated from the tournament with senior 174-pounder Curran Jacobs coming within an overtime 3-1 decision of his first All-American honors.

BASKETBALL

Appling benefits from Billikens' sag defense

Pat Evans
March 18, 2012

Coming into the game against Saint Louis, the MSU men’s basketball team knew it would be well defended against. The Billikens are praised for their defense and were extremely physical and abusive to the Spartans. At least all the Spartans not named Keith Appling. The Billikens sagged of the sophomore guard and dared him to shoot. Appling has struggled with his shot all season, but he can still find the bucket when needed.

ICE HOCKEY

Hockey earns No. 4 seed in NCAA Tournament

Dillon Davis
March 18, 2012

The NCAA unveiled its 2012 tournament field on Sunday, and the MSU hockey team has a new lease on life. The Spartans (19-15-4 overall, 14-11-3-2 CCHA) earned a bid as the No. seed in the East Region in the 2012 NCAA Tournament and will open against Eastern College Athletic Conference champion and No. 1-seed Union on Friday in Bridgeport, Conn. With the bid, the Spartans rank fourth in all-time tournament appearances with 27 and are in the tournament for the first time since 2008.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Column: Seniors united through careers, tournament losses

Josh Mansour
March 17, 2012

After answering questions at the podium, Taylor Alton, with tears in her eyes, returned to the locker room and sat next to fellow senior forward Lykendra Johnson. It was the final time the duo would wear their MSU jerseys, and as Alton sat in her chair, emotionally drained from the afternoon, her fellow captain put her arm around her and the two rocked back and forth, talking of their time at MSU.

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BASKETBALL

Despite elimination, Spartans laid foundation for next season

Jesse O'Brien
March 17, 2012

College Park, Md. — Just hours after their season ended with a 67-55 loss to No. 7 seed Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the MSU women’s basketball team already is looking ahead to next season. Although the 2011-2012 campaign is now in the books, freshman center Jasmine Hines said she felt that because the Spartans refused to quit during the loss, they had laid a good framework to build on in preparation for next season. “We’re all competitors,” Hines said.

SOFTBALL

Softball prepares for Hoosier Classic

Josh Mansour
March 15, 2012

When looking at the MSU softball team’s record (7-15) the initial impulse is to assume the team isn’t very good. But the Spartans have gone through a grueling preseason that head coach Jacquie Joseph touts as the toughest in the country and said, as a result, the team’s record is deceiving.

BASEBALL

Baseball travels to Cincinnati for three-game series

Dillon Davis
March 15, 2012

As the MSU and Cincinnati men’s basketball teams prepare for the end of their season in the NCAA Tournament, the seasons of its respective baseball programs are just starting to come together. The Spartans (7-7) are looking for their bats to heat up and create a little March Madness this weekend in a three-game road series with the Bearcats (8-6) at Marge Schott Stadium in Cincinnati.

SPORTS

Gymnastics closes regular season at Michigan

Jesse O'Brien
March 15, 2012

After the MSU gymnastics team jumped from No. 44 to No. 28 in the Regional Qualifying Score, or RQS, rankings this past week, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Spartans got complacent and fell off a bit in their final meet of the season. But head coach Kathie Klages doesn’t think getting her team to stay focused will be an issue, considering the competition her gymnasts are up against this week.