Spartan Sports Roundup
4/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | General
April 8, 2009
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.
 | Baseball |
Roster | Schedule
Last Week: The Spartans scored their most runs since 2007 in a 20-3 win over Central Michigan on Wednesday (April 1) at Olds Park and then swept Northwestern in their Big Ten home-opening series at McLane Baseball Stadium.
This Week: MSU heads to Western Michigan to take on the Broncos at 3 p.m. on Wednesday (April 8) before traveling to Columbus, Ohio, for a three-game set with Ohio State. The first game of the Spartans' series with the Buckeyes is set for Friday (April 10) at 6:05 p.m.
Notes: In Saturday's inaugural game at McLane Baseball Stadium, senior Nolan Moody threw the school's first no-hitter in more than 16 years in the Spartans' 2-0 win over Northwestern ... Moody's no-hitter was the first since Dan Garman recorded a no-no vs. Purdue on March 28, 1993, and it was the first no-hitter by a pitcher in the Big Ten since 2006 ... The no-hitter earned Moody Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's Louisville Sluggers Top Performers List and the College Baseball Foundation's National All-Star Lineup ... The Spartans are a perfect 8-0 at home this season which is their best season start since 2004 when they began the season 12-0 at home ... With just a 3.31 ERA, the Spartan pitching staff leads the conference in Big Ten games ... MSU pitchers are also holding opponents to a .222 batting average in conference games ... Junior pitcher Kyle Corcoran leads the conference with four runners picked off ... Freshman Tony Bucciferro, who is 2-1 on the year, has 20 strikeouts and has issued just three walks in 27.1 innings of work ... MSU's 11 pickoffs and 18 runners caught stealing this year leads the Big Ten.
| Softball |
Roster | Schedule
Last Week: Michigan State dropped both games of a doubleheader with Northwestern last Wednesday. The Wildcats posted a 9-1 win in game one and an 11-2 victory in the nightcap. Sophomore Lindsey Hansen (Valparaiso, Fla.) hit a solo home run in the first game and freshman Lauren Kramer (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI in the second game.
This Week: The Spartans host Purdue in a doubleheader on Thursday, April 9 beginning at 3 p.m. MSU then hosts Indiana in a two-game series on Saturday, April 11 and Sunday, April 12. The games begin at noon both days and are being broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
Notes: MSU ranks 14th nationally in home runs per game and is 19th in slugging percentage ... Senior Megan Hair (Torrance, Calif.) ranks seventh in the nation in saves, while classmate Kara Weigle (Naples, Calif.) is ranked 16th nationally with .34 sacrifice hits per game and is 20th in doubles per game (.38) ... Lindsey Hansen ranks 22nd in home runs (9.0), 24th in homers per game (.31) and 27th in triples (3.0) ... Gina Mondo (Orange, Conn.), who starts at second base, leads the team in hits with 38 and is tied for first with 23 runs ... Weigle, who has started all 31 games at catcher for MSU, has a .374 batting average with a team-leading 11 doubles and 10 sacrifice hits ... Hair has appeared in 22 games, starting 15; she has pitched two complete games and leads the team in innings pitched (80.1), strikeouts (39) and saves (3) ... MSU is 36-for-41 in stolen base attempts this season as Mondo leads the team with nine ... Weigle and Hansen have added six while sophomore Karen Fox (Flushing, Mich.) is also 5-for-5 thus far ... Fox and freshman Ali Grant (Lutz, Fla.) lead the team in fielding percentage as both have not committed an error this season; Grant has appeared in all 31 games, while Fox has played in 24 games ... The Spartans have notched 32 home runs through 31 games this season ... Hansen leads the way with 10, while Mondo has added five and Kramer has four ... Two others, Weidle and Grant, each have three ... Mondo now ranks fifth on MSU's all-time home run list with 18 in her career, while Weigle recently reached the list with 12 in her career. Hansen also made the list during the Spartans' last two-game series, hitting a solo home run against Northwestern ... After hitting just one homer last season, Hansen has 10 this season, tying for eighth on the all-time career list and third on the single-season list ... MSU opened the home portion of its schedule on March 24 - 25, posting wins in all three games and holding a perfect record at the recently renovated Old College Field ... Senior pitcher Megan Hair recorded her 150th career strikeout on March 21 at Ohio State; Hair leads the team with 39 strikeouts this season and now has 161 in her career ... The Spartans rank fourth in the Big Ten in batting average and several players are ranked in various categories ... Weigle ranks first in doubles (11) and is third in sacrifice bunts (10) ... Hansen is tied for second in triples (3) and is tied for second in home runs (10) ... Kramer ranks fifth in the Big Ten in batting average (.398) and Mondo is sixth (.396).
| Outdoor Track & Field |
Roster | Schedule
Last Week: MSU hosted its only home meet of the season, the Spartan Invitational, last Saturday. In all, nine Spartans claimed event titles while sophomore Shane Wells (Romulus, Mich.) posted an NCAA regional qualifying time in the 110m hurdles for the second consecutive week. His time of 14.23 on Saturday is a personal-best mark.
This Week: The Spartans will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., to take part in the Joe Hilton Invitational, hosted by North Carolina.
Notes: Wells has emerged as one the Spartans' top performers during the outdoor season as he has set regional qualifying marks in the 110m hurdles in both meets during the outdoor season ... Wells ran 14.28 at the USF Quad Meet and followed that with a 14.23 last weekend at the Spartan Invite ... Sophomore Yury Ratomski (Novi, Mich.) has also qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships in the 200m dash; Ratomski posted a time of 21.23 in the event at the USF Quad Meet ... The women's 4x100m relay won the event title at the Spartan Invite and placed second at the USF Quad Meet ... Two freshmen, Lonnie Pugh (Grosse Ile, Mich.) and Beth Rohl (New Buffalo, Mich.), have put up big marks in the discus throw ... Pugh has the men's top mark this season, posting a throw of 52.35m (171-9), just eight inches shy of a new school record ... Rohl's toss of 49.31 (161-9) at the Spartan Invite is also a team-best this season; she was competing unattached at the meet ... Both marks are personal-bests.
| Gymnastics |
Roster | Schedule
Last Week: The 26th-ranked Spartans concluded the 2009 season with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Central Regional, held inside of St. John Arena at Ohio State Saturday evening. Junior Rochelle Robinson (Chesapeake, Va.) was MSU's top event finisher, scoring a team-high 9.875 to place fourth overall. Classmate Nicole Curler recorded a 39.150 in the all-around to place seventh.
Notes: MSU made its 19th appearance at the NCAA Regionals marking the fourth time that the Spartans have finished fourth at the NCAA Regionals, ... MSU has finished in fourth or better in 10 of its 18 appearances at the Regional Championships ... Curler missed competing in the all-around at the NCAA Championships by .025 ... MSU recorded a 48.200 on balance beam, 49.050 on floor exercise, 49.075 on vault and 48.500 on uneven bars at the Regional ... Robinson ranks 21st in the nation on bars, fifth in the region and first in the Big Ten ... Sophomore Kelsey Morley (Elkhart, Ind.) is third in the nation, and is first in the region and conference on beam ... Curler ranks 29th nationally on beam and is third in the Big Ten, while junior Emily Lopatofsky (Waymart, Pa.) is seventh in the conference on floor.
| Women's Tennis |
Roster | Schedule
Last Week: The Michigan State women's tennis team fell, 4-3, to Penn State on Saturday. The Spartans wrapped up the weekend by falling, 5-2, to No. 35 Ohio State in both school's first outdoor match of the season.
This Week: The Spartans will return to action on Sunday, April 23, for their final home match of the season when they face Purdue at 11 a.m. The Spartans' three seniors - Ana Milosavljevic, Stephanie Kebler and Marianne Eelens - will be honored at the match.
Notes: Sophomore Whitney Wilson (Evansville, Ind.) leads the Spartans with a 19-13 singles record on the season ... The doubles tandem of Stephanie Kebler (Okemos, Mich.) and Elena Ivanova (Moscow, Russia) is 7-3 in its last 10 matches ... The tandem of Kebler and junior Christine Milliken (Traverse City, Mich.) is a perfect 2-0 when partnered together ... The doubles pairing of Ivanova and Milosavljevic is 2-0 on the season when seeing action at No. 2 doubles ... The team has won the doubles point in 11 matches this season ... Freshman Dana Guentert (Lilburn, Ga.) is 8-2 in her last 10 completed matches, winning her last six; she is now 17-6 on the season ... Ivanova is tied with Guentert for second on the team in wins as they each have posted 17 on the season.
| Men's Tennis |
Roster | Schedule
Last Week: Michigan State fell in Big Ten play to No. 5 Ohio State, 7-0, on Saturday and then to No. 51 Penn State on Sunday, 5-2. The matches put the Spartans at 12-9 this season and 0-6 in Big Ten play.
This Week: MSU will host No. 47 Michigan on Wednesday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility with play beginning at 3 p.m.
Notes: The doubles tandem of senior John Allare (Masonville, Ohio) and junior Jason Norville (Farmington Hills, Mich.) defeated No. 41 Balazs Novak and Steven Moneke of Penn State, 8-7, putting them at 13-8 overall and 1-3 in Big Ten play ... At the No. 2 position, Allare and Norville are 7-0 ... Sophomore John Stratton (Monroeville, N.J.) and senior Alex Forger (Okemos, Mich.) picked up a win over the Penn State doubles pairing of Eddie Bourchier and Ryan Gormley, 8-5, putting them at 1-2 in Big Ten play ... Freshman Ronnie Hulewicz (Tequesta, Fla.) and Norville were the only two Spartans to pick up wins this past weekend in singles play ... Hulewicz defeated Guillaume St-Maurice of Penn State, 6-1, 7-6(3), improving to 17-3 in dual play, a team best ... Norville picked up a win over Penn State's Ryan Gormley, 6-3, 7-5, improving to 9-7 in dual play and 2-3 in Big Ten play ... Michigan State has picked up the doubles point 12 times this season, most recently against Iowa ... They are 12-9 in dual play with 11 of those wins coming at home and one on the road ... Eight of the nine teams that MSU has fallen to are all nationally ranked: No. 25 Notre Dame, No. 29 Tulsa, No. 60 California, No. 37 Minnesota, No. 26 Wisconsin, No. 58 Northwestern, No. 5 Ohio State and No. 51 Penn State ... MSU has only three losses at home, all of which have come at the hands of ITA ranked opponents - No. 25 Notre Dame, No. 5 Ohio State and No. 51 Penn State.
| Rowing |
Roster | Schedule
Last Week: No. 5 MSU claimed the Dale England Cup after totaling 256 points in the two-session competition at Indiana. The Spartans' varsity eight and second varsity eight crews each won by open water in both sessions, claiming 180 of the team's 256 points in the competition. Both boats have not lost this spring.
This Week: MSU will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take part in the Big Ten Double Dual, hosted by Michigan on Belleville Lake. Also on hand will be No. 9 Wisconsin, Iowa and No. 20 Louisville. This weekend will mark the second time that MSU will compete against both Michigan and Louisville as the trio met at last week's Dale England Cup in Bloomington, Ind.
Notes: Both varsity eight boats have not lost a race this Spring, coming in at a combined 6-0 ... The Spartans are ranked No. 5 in the nation and are the second-highest ranked team in the Big Ten; three other Big Ten teams, Wisconsin (9), Michigan (4) and Minnesota (18), rank in the top 20 this season ... The MSU rowing program has qualified for the NCAA National Regatta in 10 of the last 11 seasons and will look to make it 11 of 12 this season ... MSU tied its best finish ever last season, finishing sixth overall at the National Regatta ... MSU is also the defending Big Ten Champion ... The varsity eight posted a season-best time of 6:40.80 at last week's Dale England Cup; the time was also the best by any crew at the competition.
Players Mentioned
