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SPORTS

Sports briefs

Spartans lose recruit A hard-hitting linebacker from Ohio decided Wednesday that staying in the Buckeye State was his best choice. Bobby Carpenter will not be playing for the green and white next season - he’ll be playing for Ohio State University. The 6-foot-3, 235 pound linebacker from Lancaster High School picked the Buckeyes instead of MSU, Northwestern and North Carolina. “Location was a factor,” Carpenter said, whose family lives 30 miles from Columbus. Carpenter said getting a chance to see his three younger brothers compete was a factor, but family wasn’t the biggest reason. Carpenter made his decision Monday morning, but MSU remained a top candidate until that point. “They have a great program and a great coaching staff,” he said.

BASKETBALL

Amaker new to rivalry

Justin A. Rice
January 30, 2002

Ann Arbor - Tommy Amaker has never seen a Michigan-MSU basketball game in its entirety. But even though tonight’s game is the 36-year-old U-M head coach’s first experience with the rivalry, he’s no stranger to big games. As a four-year starter at Duke from 1984-87, Amaker was center stage for one of college basketball’s greatest rivalries - Duke vs.

ICE HOCKEY

Peers praise Masons legacy

James Jahnke
January 30, 2002

MSU head coach Ron Mason’s decision to leave the hockey program and become MSU athletics director surprised many of his colleagues across the nation. “We’re certainly going to miss him at a collegiate hockey level,” Boston College head coach Jerry York said.

SPORTS

Spartans want revenge

Chris Mackinder
January 30, 2002

The MSU women’s basketball team is looking for retribution following a loss to Wisconsin three weeks ago. The Badgers defeated the Spartans 86-78 in double overtime Jan.

ICE HOCKEY

Replacement put on hold

James Jahnke
January 29, 2002

Nobody really saw it coming, but now that hockey head coach Ron Mason has officially announced he’s vacating his post of 23 years, coaches across the country are expected to start printing out their résumés and sending them to East Lansing.Current MSU assistants Tom Newton and Dave McAuliffe have clearly stated they want the job, but those outside the Spartan hockey program face a stickier situation if they are interested.Rumors have Denver head coach George Gwozdecky, an MSU assistant from 1984-89, in the pole position for the job, but his No.

SPORTS

Tennis sweeps three

On Saturday, the MSU men’s tennis team defeated Toledo and Dayton at home. MSU (4-0 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) easily defeated Toledo (3-3, 0-0 Mid-American Conference) with a 7-0 score. The Spartans followed it up with a 7-0 win against Dayton (0-2). The women’s team (1-1, 0-0) also defeated Toledo (1-1, 0-0) 7-0 on Saturday. Mark Hicks ‘U’ hits national stage Field hockey coach Michele Madison has been selected as an assistant coach for the U.S.

BASKETBALL

Football experiment helping Spartans cope

Dan Woike
January 29, 2002

One common factor exists among the Spartan men’s basketball and football teams, but that factor may soon multiply.Since freshman quarterback Aaron Alexander joined the team Thursday, basketball head coach Tom Izzo has liked what he’s seen.In fact, Izzo’s been impressed enough with Alexander to continue talks with football head coach Bobby Williams about the possibilities of adding other bodies to his depleted roster.“There’s one or two other guys we’ve looked at, and maybe feel like we could use,” Izzo said.

ICE HOCKEY

Mason leaves program in good shape

MSU’s two oldest players - junior left wing Brian Maloney and sophomore center Tim Hearon - were infants when Ron Mason took over the reins of the Spartan hockey chariot. The rest of the 27-man roster hadn’t even been born yet. While the current players were growing up, losing their teeth, playing floor hockey in gym class and passing notes to childhood crushes, Mason was building the framework for a college hockey dynamo. Under his watchful eye and signature mustache (which has whitened a bit through the years), the Spartan program flourished into one of the elite programs in the country. He arrived from Bowling Green in 1979 and suffered through a pair of losing seasons right off the bat.

SPORTS

Task begins to replace legend

James Jahnke
January 28, 2002

Somebody’s going to have some big shoes to fill. As Ron Mason seems poised to leave the Spartan bench for the athletics director’s office, a giant-sized void in the hockey program will be left behind. Mason, college hockey’s all-time winningest coach with 916 wins, has been synonymous with MSU hockey for the last two decades.

SPORTS

Defensive surge downs Wildcats

Dan Woike
January 28, 2002

Behind swarming defense and greedy fingers, the Spartan women’s basketball team downed Northwestern 75-58 on Sunday at Breslin Center.Junior forward Syreeta Bromfield’s monster second half broke the game open for the Spartans (13-7 overall, 3-6 Big Ten) and accounted for 15 of her game-high 22 points.Freshman guard Kristin Haynie added 12 points, and freshman forward Joy Johnson chipped in 11.The Spartan defense gave Northwestern (4-16, 0-9) fits all afternoon, forcing the Wildcats into 25 turnovers.

SPORTS

Change to small, quick lineup works for Spartans

Chris Mackinder
January 28, 2002

They may have been smaller, but the players in the Spartans’ new lineup did their job.The women’s basketball team has utilized various lineups all season, but Sunday night’s was arguably its most effective.The Spartans (13-7 overall, 3-6 Big Ten) defeated Northwestern (4-16, 0-9) 75-58.Wildcats head coach June Olkowski was the first to admit the Spartans lineup puzzled her team.“What really gave us problems was the matchup,” Olkowski said.

SPORTS

White-Out for U-M

Wednesday’s game against Michigan at Breslin Center has been classified as a “White-Out” game. MSU’s athletics department is asking all attending fans to wear white T-shirts in a show of support. In other basketball news, the Big Ten Conference announced on Friday the start time for the MSU-Ohio State game on Feb.

SPORTS

Spurt at games end cant save Spartans from Iowa

Dan Woike
January 25, 2002

The Spartan women’s basketball team left Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday night taking some good out of their 75-55 loss to Iowa.The good news - the Spartans (12-7 overall, 2-6 Big Ten) outscored the Hawkeyes 36-33 for 20 minutes.The bad news - the Hawkeyes (13-5, 6-2) already held a 42-19 lead in the 20 minutes prior.“You would have thought that we had no scouting report going into the game, but we did,” Spartan head coach Joanne P.

SPORTS

Sports briefs

Irish host ‘U’ runnersThe men’s and women’s track teams compete in a dual meet today at Notre Dame.The women’s team (1-0 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) kicks off its third meet at 6 p.m.

SPORTS

Nations best come to Jenison

Chris Mackinder
January 25, 2002

After participating in the National Coaches Wrestling Association/Cliff Keen National Duals on Saturday, the road won’t get any easier for the wrestling team. The Spartans (3-3 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) take on No.