Spartan Sports Roundup
1/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | General
Jan. 22, 2009
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Spartan Sports Roundup Follow the Spartan sports teams with the latest information
Spartan Sports Roundup provides a brief overview of the Olympic sports teams in action. Read a recap of last week's action, look ahead to this week's action and find key notes on each team in this weekly recap.
 | Swimming & Diving |
Roster | Schedule
Last Week: The men's and women's teams fell to a pair of 15th-ranked Purdue squads last Saturday at McCaffree Pool. The men are now 2-2 while the women are 3-4 on the year.
This Week: The Spartans will travel to South Bend, Ind., for the Shamrock Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Jan. 23-24). Notre Dame, Denver and West Virginia will also be competing in the invitational.
Notes: With two first-place finishes last weekend against Purdue, sophomore Becca Ebner (Okemos, Mich.) now has 10 first-place finishes in the 12 butterfly events she has competed in this year...Sophomore kevin Puskaric (200 breaststroke, 1:57.09), junior Jon LaRocque (50 freestyle, 20.13 and 100 backstroke, 48.55) and senior Marcus Poteete (100 butterfly, 47.01) have all set new school records...For the women, senior Heather Kiluk snapped her own MSU record in the 200 IM (2:02.44)...The men's 200 medley relay team, consisting of LaRocque, Poteete, Joe Schmitt and Matt Massman, as well as the women's 400 medley relay team of sophomores Stephanie Fisher and Becca Ebner, freshman Kerry Sodonis and junior Erinn Wertz, both set new school marks...Poteete's 47.01 in the 100 fly currently ranks as the 18th-fastest time in the nation this year...Puskaric has posted the nation's eighth-fastest time to date this season in the 200 breast (1:57.0).
| Wrestling |
Roster | Schedule
Last Week: The Spartans picked up a pair of road victories over Ohio and West Virginia.
This Week: MSU hits the road for a pair of matches against ranked teams. Friday (Jan. 23), the Spartans will take on No. 19 Northwestern and then will tangle with ninth-ranked Minnesota on Sunday (Jan. 25).
Notes: Franklin Gomez (Brandon, Fla.), currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, is now 11-0 on the year with four major decisions...At 18-6 on the year, Rex Kendle (Edwardsburg, Mich.) leads MSU in wins this season...Anthony Jones Jr. (Highland Park, Mich.) picked up two wins last weekend to move to 17-7 on the year and 4-2 in dual meets...Jones and Eric Olanowski (Virginia Beach, Va.), at 17-8, are tied for the most victories on the team this season...MSU is 3-0 on the road this season...Red-shirt freshman Ian Hinton (Nappanee, Ind.) scored his biggest win of the season last weekend against West Virginia, pinning 12th-ranked Kurt Benner.
| Indoor Track & Field |
Roster | Schedule
Last Week: The Spartans claimed six event titles and 21 top-five finishes at the Indiana Invitational last Saturday. Yury Ratomski (Novi, Mich.), Jeremy Orr (Detroit, Mich.) Stephen Humes (Troy, Mich.), Shane Knoll (Warren, Mich.) and Lisa Senakiewich (Davison, Mich.) all won events for the Spartans while the men's 4x400m relay team also took home the event title. The meet marked the first time this season that the Spartans have competed against Big Ten competition as Indiana, Illinois, Purdue and Michigan were all on hand.
This Week: The Spartans travel to South Bend, Ind., to take part in the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday (Jan. 23). The meet is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Marquette will all be on hand for the meet.
Notes: The Spartans have seen several record-breaking performances this season, highlighted by Anthony Agrusa (St. Clair Shores, Mich.), who set the school-record in the weight throw ... His toss of 18.74m (61-5 ¾) at the Chippewa Open broke the previous record, set by Jay Gillespie (Allen Park, Mich.) in the MSU Open on Dec. 5 ... MSU competed a full contingent of distance runners for the first time this season at the Indiana Invitational, highlighted by Lisa Senakiewich (Davison, Mich.), who won the 3,000m run with a personal-best time of 9:34.02 ... Also winning in distance events was Shane Knoll (Warren, Mich.), who picked up the win in the men's 3,000m run while Sarah Price (Manakto, Minn.) took third in the mile ... Freshman Beth Rohl (New Buffalo, Mich.) has been a bright spot for the throwers on the women's side as she has put up big marks in her first three collegiate meets, highlighted by her second-place finish at the Indiana Invitational when she tallied a personal-best toss of 18.10m (59-4 ¾) ... The Spartans saw three athletes earn weekly conference honors following the season-opening MSU Open ... Charelise Davis (Pittsburgh, Pa.) took home Big Ten Female Track Athlete of the Week honors after claiming the 60m dash title with a personal-best time of 7.63 seconds; Becca Buchholtz (East Troy, Mich.) was the Big Ten Female Field Athlete of the Week after winning the pentathlon in her first collegiate event while Gillespie took home Male Field Athlete of the Week after his school-record heave of 18.40m (50-6 ¼) in the weight throw.
| Gymnastics |
Roster | Schedule
Last Week: The Spartans finished second with a score of 194.200 at the third annual Jan Howard Flip for a Cure meet.
This Week: MSU travels to University Park, Pa., on Saturday, Jan. 24 for a dual meet with Penn State at 7 p.m.
Notes: Last weekend's meet raised more than $1,200 for the American Cancer Society ... The Spartans' overall score of 194.200 was a season high ... Senior Katlyn Roggensack (Wheaton, Ill.) tallied a career-high 9.825 on vault, earning top honors for the first time in her career ... Junior Nicole Curler (Bay City, Mich.) posted a season-high 9.800 on uneven bars, finishing second overall ... Curler and sophomore Kelsey Morley (Elkhart, Ind.) both recorded 9.850 on balance beam, finishing first overall ... Senior Dani Fanning and sophomore Nikki Argiros (Livonia, Mich.) both posted 9.775 on floor exercise, tying their career highs and placing third overall on the event ... MSU ranks 26th overall as a team, 15th on floor exercise, 16th on uneven bars and 22nd on vault ... Argiros ranks 66th on floor exercise and Curler ranks 78th on uneven bars.
| Women's Tennis |
Roster | Schedule
Last Week: The No. 65 Michigan State women's tennis team fell 6-1 to the No. 40 Louisville Cardinals to open dual play in Louisville, Ky. Picking up the lone win for the Spartans was freshman Elena Ivanova (Moscow, Russia). Ivanova defeated Natalia Baez 6-7 (2), 6-4, 10-6 in the No. 4 singles spot.
This Week: The Spartans return to East Lansing for their spring home opener against Eastern Michigan on Friday (Jan. 23) at 4 p.m. at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.
Notes: This marked the highest ranking the Spartans have began the season since the 2002-03 season, when the team was ranked 64th by the ITA...Making his Spartan debut this weekend was assistant coach Mariusz Adamski.
| Men's Tennis |
Roster | Schedule
Last Week: The MSU men's tennis team opened dual play defeating Northern Illinois, 6-1, and then posting a 7-0 win over Detroit at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility on Saturday, Jan. 17.
This Week: Michigan State men's tennis will continue its seven-match homestand this Saturday, Jan. 24 at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility against the Cleveland State Vikings at 10 a.m. and then the Youngstown State Penguins at 4 p.m.
Notes: The Spartans lost just two matches last weekend, one in singles play and one in doubles play as they helped head coach Gene Orlando earn his 200th career victory for MSU...Senior John Allare (Maineville, Ohio) and freshman Austin Brooks (Houston, Texas) finished the day undefeated competing in three matches each in both singles and doubles play.
Players Mentioned
