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Sports

BASKETBALL

3 recruits sign letters of intent to join Izzo, team next season

Paul Day
November 13, 2003

As the MSU basketball team embarks on its self-proclaimed "Magical Journey," three high school seniors took the first step in theirs.Wyoming Park point guard Drew Neitzel and forwards Marquise Gray of Flint Beecher and Goran Suton of Lansing Everett kept their promises to MSU head coach Tom Izzo by signing national letters of intent Wednesday to play for the Spartans next season.Wednesday was the first time Izzo could speak about his incoming class, which included two players - Neitzel and Gray - who have been verbal commits to the Spartans since their sophomore years.With so many high school players entering the NBA and the recent rash of decommittments in college basketball, recruiting has become a jungle, Izzo said.

SPORTS

Goalkeeper shines for Spartans

Scott Bartosiewicz
November 13, 2003

As the MSU field hockey team embarks upon another NCAA Tournament journey, much of the spotlight will be on goalkeeper Christina Kirkaldy. The sophomore netminder from Afton, N.Y., continually shuts down opponents and is one of the main reasons the No.

SPORTS

'U' to host 1st, 2nd round

Tara Miller
November 13, 2003

The room erupted as if Justin Timberlake had walked in - screams, applause, cheers and chills. Underneath green T-shirts that read "1123," arm hairs were on end.

ICE HOCKEY

Unbeaten streak propels icers to No. 15

Paul Day
November 12, 2003

The Spartans head to the unfamiliar confines of Goggin Ice Arena in Oxford, Ohio, in their CCHA series, testing their six-game unbeaten streak. During the Spartans' surge, which put them in the rankings after a five-week hiatus, they have only played two games away from Munn Ice Arena.

FOOTBALL

Wheeler OK, won't play against Badgers

Jon Styf
November 11, 2003

After suffering a neck injury in Saturday's game at Ohio State, sophomore left tackle Stefon Wheeler returned to East Lansing on Sunday night.Results were negative on an MRI done Sunday, but Wheeler will not return for Saturday's game against Wisconsin.

SPORTS

Women's crew team wins 16-boat regatta

Meghan Gilbert
November 11, 2003

MSU women's crew defeated 15 other boats to claim first place in Sunday's The Head of the Lake regatta in Seattle, Wash.The eight-member team finished the regatta at 17:18.06, just seconds ahead of the University of Victoria (British Columbia) at 17:23.03.The competition included a 3-mile race course with a 180-degree bend just before the finish line.

FOOTBALL

Dropped Again

Jon Styf
November 10, 2003

Columbus, Ohio - With starting strong safety Eric Smith out, the MSU defense was forced to make many pass-coverage adjustments. But in the end, they weren't enough, as MSU lost to Ohio State 33-23 at Ohio Stadium.

SPORTS

Spartans' rebound, shoot to 83-55 win

Patrick Walters
November 10, 2003

The good news - the MSU women's basketball team improved their defense, interior game and rebounding in Saturday's 83-55 exhibition win over Hungarian touring team Zala Volan at Breslin Center.The bad news - the Spartans don't have another European squad on the schedule.MSU outplayed Zala Volan in nearly every aspect Saturday, flirting with 20-point leads throughout the duration of the contest and grabbing 49 rebounds.

SPORTS

Penalties, dropped passes plague team

Columbus, Ohio - MSU's game plan, or lack thereof, on Saturday must have been a carbon copy of the debacle from two weeks ago against Michigan. For the second straight week, this time against No.

SPORTS

'U' needs 2 wins to be in Jan. 1 game

As the sun beamed down over Ohio Stadium on Saturday afternoon and Buckeyes quarterback Craig Krenzel took a final kneel to run out the clock, another loss was tallied next to MSU's name. Now, a dark reality blocks the sunshine lighting up East Lansing.

VOLLEYBALL

Victory at Wisconsin is 4th straight

Megan Homanick
November 10, 2003

As the cold weather sweeps in from outside, the MSU volleyball team has begun to heat up inside gyms around the Big Ten. The Spartans (17-7 overall, 9-5 Big Ten) continued their winning ways on the road, beating Wisconsin, 30-26, 21-30, 22-30, 30-25 and 15-8.