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.
Since becoming the first woman to win the Detroit Newspapers Michigan PGA Tournament of Champions on July 23, former Spartan Stacy Snider has been taking things easy. "I haven't been up to much, I've mostly been packing and getting ready to leave for Florida on (Aug.
My mom always told me to take joy in the little things. After seven years of school, I've "taken joy" in just about everything sports-related on campus - big, small or otherwise, and I've learned the little things are most often overlooked by the average sports fan.
Lansing - With classes beginning and the thought of homework drifting into reality, summer fun might seem to be in the past.
Two days and one month before the MSU football season begins against the Broncos of Western Michigan, I saw the movie "Seabiscuit." For those of you not in the racehorse know, I'll quickly summarize the story of the legendary horse. Seabiscuit had very low - if any - expectations. Seabiscuit was a descendant of the famed racehorse Man o' War yet, as a colt, he showed very little promise.
Three of last season's four football captains were benched, suspended or jailed.The 2002 captains - quarterback Jeff Smoker, center Brian Ottney, safety Thomas Wright and running back Dawan Moss - are a stark contrast to the humble disposition displayed by this year's group, a bunch of linemen and a linebacker."Last year the guys didn't follow through," senior captain Paul Harker said.
Coming into the 2003 season, the MSU running backs are overshadowed, undersized, thin on depth and inexperienced - but that might not be a bad thing.After the Spartans lost their top two running backs from last season - Dawan Moss to graduation and David Richard to Missouri on a transfer - the running corps were looking depleted.
After a first NCAA Tournament berth in school history, the MSU women's soccer team has its sights set on a Big Ten Championship. Junior midfielder Ashley Lawson said losing just two starters to graduation leaves her team with an advantage for the upcoming year. "Obviously the seniors will be missed," she said.
Detroit - As Charles Rogers stepped out from behind a closed door on Ford Field's concourse level, camera bulbs popped and hundreds of heads turned to catch a glimpse of the Saginaw native and former Spartan star clad in Honolulu blue and silver."It's nice for me, being a prospect from Michigan," said Rogers, while sitting down to sign autographs.
After sitting out his freshman season at MSU for academic ineligibility, "Tarzan" will be suiting up as a wide receiver for the Spartans this fall."Tarzan" is just a description for sophomore wide receiver Matt Trannon.
Summer is usually a time to relax, but not in the case of the MSU volleyball team. Usually preseason is the time teams start practicing together, getting a feel for what they will be able to accomplish during the upcoming season. But with four seniors and 11 returning letterwinners, senior co-captain libero Emmy Miller and senior co-captain setter Nikki Colson wanted to get a head start on their competition.