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Team

SPORTS

Cooper gives verbal commitment to Smith

Kristofer Karol
January 15, 2003

MSU is getting help where it needs it the most - on defense. Flint Northern defensive back William "Greg" Cooper told The State News on Tuesday night he has changed his verbal commitment from Michigan to MSU because of personal reasons and because he felt more comfortable in East Lansing. Cooper verbally committed to U-M during the summer, but then visited MSU's campus last November - prior to former head football coach Bobby Williams' firing.

SPORTS

Sports Briefs

Anisko, Laskowski claim Big Ten Diving Honors Two Spartan divers garnered conference awards this week. Senior Stephanie Anisko and sophomore Justin Laskowski were selected as the Big Ten Conference Divers of the Week on Tuesday. The two combined for six first-place diving finishes as the MSU men defeated Northwestern and Ball State, and the women's team split, besting the Cardinals and falling to the Wildcats. Anisko, a co-captain for the Spartans, won every diving event she competed in this weekend.

ICE HOCKEY

Booth a pleasant surprise in first season

James Jahnke
January 14, 2003

MSU head coach Rick Comley has endured plenty of surprises in his first year at the Spartans' helm.From shocking losses to player desertions to an unimproved offense, Comley's initial season hasn't exactly followed the script.But one of MSU's most pleasant surprises has been freshman left wing David Booth.

SPORTS

Sports briefs

Benita Mehta
January 13, 2003

Commodores smash tennis team in opener In its first match of the 2003 season, the MSU women's tennis team was completely outplayed, failing to win a match - or a set - in singles play. The Spartans (0-1) were defeated 7-0 by Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn.

SPORTS

Basketball team has to improve to meet hype

The fall was a miserable season if you were a fan of Spartan football. Not much detail is needed because everyone knows the story: high expectations, embarrassing blowout losses, suspensions and terminations.

SPORTS

Spartans breeze past Detroit-Mercy

Dawn Klemish
January 13, 2003

MSU junior forward Julie Pagel showed her old high school teammates who was boss from the tip-off to the final horn Sunday as MSU downed Detroit-Mercy 72-49 at Breslin Center.Titan forward Lori Wild and guard Lindsey Pasquinzo both played with Pagel at Utica High School, leading the team to a 27-0 record and Class A State Championship in 2000.Once the starting lineups were introduced and hugs and smiles were exchanged Pagel put on her game face.She tallied season highs with 15 points and eight boards for the Spartans (8-6 overall, 1-2 Big Ten).Pagel said the matchup with Wild and Pasquinzo provided inspiration by reminding her how she had dominated the court in the past.Back injuries had limited her success this year."They got me back to where I know how I can play, they always bring out the best in me," Pagel said.

ICE HOCKEY

Icers get sweep, 4 points, make ground in conference standings

James Jahnke
January 13, 2003

Minutes after the MSU hockey team completed its most dominating weekend of the season, some Spartans said they felt like they had turned the corner on their turbulent season.In beating Alaska-Fairbanks 5-2 on Friday and 6-2 on Saturday, MSU claimed its first series sweep since taking out Lake Superior State on Oct.

BASKETBALL

Inconsistency a constant

Chris Mackinder
January 13, 2003

Iowa City - Throughout the 2002-03 season, the MSU men's basketball team has been consistently inconsistent. Those inconsistencies were highlighted Saturday afternoon as the No.

BASKETBALL

Spartans shoot for first Big Ten road triumph

Chris Mackinder
January 10, 2003

Iowa might not have big names on its roster. But the Hawkeyes pose some problems for the MSU basketball team.Because the Spartans hadn't concluded their game with Ohio State at the time of print, they were null to talk about their matchup with Iowa (9-3, 1-0 Big Ten). And unless they remember much from their games a year ago, MSU players were in the dark about the Hawkeye team."To tell you the truth, we haven't even looked at film on them yet," junior forward Adam Wolfe said following Tuesday's practice.

SPORTS

Michael Vick is to football what Michael Jordan is to basketball

This past NFL regular season, millions of football fans were treated to the second coming of one of the greatest athletes of all time. For 15 games, Mike Vick electrified sold-out stadiums and national television audiences with his fleet-footedness and wrist-flicking throwing technique with the same flair of another great athlete. Randall Cunningham?

SPORTS

Team expects to smash rivals in upcoming season

Benita Mehta
January 10, 2003

If last season's performance is any indication, the MSU women's tennis team is poised to break through to the next level in 2003.The team is confident it can improve on last season's 11-12 record and the school's first-ever national ranking, finishing 62nd in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings."I think we're looking really good for this time of year," MSU head coach Tim Bauer said.

SPORTS

Sports briefs

Benita Mehta
January 10, 2003

Baseball to hold 2 camps next month Two camps hosted by the MSU baseball team will take place early next month. The camps will run a week apart, leading off with the pitching and catching portion Feb.

ICE HOCKEY

Defense, special teams do not measure up to previous season

James Jahnke
January 10, 2003

One game past the halfway point of the season, the MSU hockey team has a .500 record (9-9-1 overall, 5-6-0 CCHA). For a team that hasn't had a losing season since 1991, the players and coaches agree it's a mark teetering on the edge of unacceptability. Dissecting MSU's problem is a continuous process for head coach Rick Comley.

BASKETBALL

Izzo expects players to improve on free throws

Patrick Walters
January 9, 2003

Heading in to their 53rd season of Big Ten men's basketball, No. 25 MSU is looking for a little charity - from the stripe, that is.After shooting 77.7 percent from the foul line in the first seven games of the season, MSU (8-4) has only shot 67.5 percent in the last five, which is below head coach Tom Izzo's standards.Izzo said missed free throws have "really cost us the last two games, as much as anything."Despite MSU's shooting woes, the Spartans are currently tied for fourth (72.8 percent) among Big Ten teams.

ICE HOCKEY

Indiana native commits to hockey squad

Brandon Warner, a 6-foot, 170-pound defenseman from Huntertown, Ind., verbally committed to the MSU hockey team Wednesday.Warner has four goals, nine assists and 54 penalty minutes in 32 games this season for the Pittsburgh Forge of the North American Hockey League.