Cross country
Rank: No. 13 (women)
Last week: The women's team ran to a third-place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in West Lafayette, Ind., while the men took sixth.
Next competition: The women's team earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships, held in Terre Haute, Ind., on Monday. It marks the 10th straight year the women have earned a bid to the NCAA Championships. Last season, the Spartans took fifth at nationals, which was the second-best finish in school history.
Key runner: Senior Nicole Bush (Wyoming), the Big Ten Cross Country Athlete of the Year, is a legitimate national title contender after placing first at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
Local connection: Sophomore Emily Langenberg (Grand Ledge) earned Great Lakes All-Region accolades after finishing 15th at last week's regional race.
Field hockey
Record: 17-6 (season complete)
Last week: Defeated defending NCAA champion North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Ralph Young Field, 2-1, but fell to fourth-seeded Iowa in the second round, 1-0.
Key player: Senior Gwen Riley, who led the team with 14 assists, will represent MSU in the NFHCA Senior All-Star game Nov. 22 in Louisville, Ky.
Men's soccer
Record: 13-5-1
Rank: No. 9
Last week: The top seed in the tournament after winning the regular-season title, MSU won the program's second Big Ten Tournament championship last weekend in Madison, Wis., with a pair of 1-0 victories over Northwestern and Indiana.
This week: Earned a No. 4 national seed and a first-round bye in the 48-team NCAA Championship; will face either Illinois-Chicago or Dayton at 1 p.m. Tuesday at DeMartin Stadium.
Key player: Sophomore goalkeeper Avery Steinlage (Grand Haven) was named the top defensive player of the Big Ten Tournament. Steinlage has not allowed a goal in nearly 700 minutes of play and has nine shutouts this season.
Local connection: Senior Doug DeMartin (Mason) was named the top offensive player of the tournament after scoring both of MSU's goals. DeMartin was also named a first-team Academic All-American - the first in program history - on Wednesday for his 3.91 GPA in finance.
Women's soccer
Record: 14-7-3 (season complete)
Last Week: Defeated Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2-1, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in South Bend, Ind., before falling to top-seeded Notre Dame, 1-0, in the second round. The 14 wins this season are the second most in program history and the most since 1991.
Key player: Laura Heyboer (Hudsonville), the first freshman to win Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, finished her productive season with 21 goals and 51 points. She scored both goals in the victory of UW-Milwaukee.
Swimming and diving
Record: Men 1-1, women 2-3
Last Week: Both the men and women defeated Grand Valley State, combining to win 25 of the meet's 26 total events.
This week: Both programs will compete at the Northwestern Invitational this weekend in Evanston, Ill.
Key swimmer: Sophomore Kevin Puskaric set a pool record in the 100 breaststroke (56.12) against Grand Valley.
Local connection: Sophomore Becca Ebner (Okemos) has won seven of eight butterfly events she has competed in this season; she set a pool record in the 100 fly vs. Grand Valley, swimming the event in 56.09.
Volleyball
Record: 14-13 (6-10 Big Ten)
Last week: Lost at Michigan, 3-1, but bounced back to beat Ohio State, 3-1.
This week: Travels to No. 18 Purdue today and No. 16 Illinois Saturday.
Key player: Sophomore libero Allyson Karaba (Muskegon) currently ranks third on the all-time MSU single-season digs list with 444. Karaba needs just 42 digs to move into second place.
Wrestling
Record: 2-1
Last week: Won two of three matches at the ACC-Big Ten Clash in Chapel Hill, N.C., topping North Carolina, 18-12, and North Carolina State, 23-13, while falling to No. 21 Virginia, 23-15.
This week: No competition.
Key wrestler: Junior Franklin Gomez is 7-0 on the season and ranked No. 3 in the nation at 133 pounds after winning all three of his matches at the ACC-Big Ten Clash.
- Michigan State Sports information
