Sports: For the Record
OUTSTANDING BASEBALL SEASON
Baseball coach Tom Smith was named this year's Big Ten Coach of the Year--his second such award in five years. Smith's team went 36-19 overall and 17-11 in the league, with catcher Craig Mayes making 1st-team all-Big Ten, right-fielder Steve Johnson and pitcher Stuart Hirschman the second team and center-fielder Steve Money the third team. Hirschman, a junior boasting a 3.79 GPA, also made Academic All-American.
Pitcher Tim Crabtree was drafted 34th by Toronto. Also drafted were senior catcher Craig Mayes (San Francisco) and junior shortstop Bob Juday (Boston).
OLYMPIAN SPLASH
Two-time NCAA champion and 1992 Michigan NCAA Woman of the Year Julie Farrell-Ovenhouse has become far and away America's best diver. At the National Diving Championships in April, she won both the 1-meter and 3-meter gold medals. Two months later, at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, she won the 3-meter springboard event with such ease that she could have flopped into the pool for her final dive and still won. Final margin: A whopping 76 points.
KUDOS FOR MSU ATHLETES
- Molly Poffenberger, senior MVP tennis player from Cincinnati, OH, won the 1991-92 MSU Sportswoman Award, the highest honor for a female athlete at MSU.
- Track and field standout Misty Allison won the George Alderton Athlete of the Year Award and the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor.
- Former track star and Olympian Judi Brown King, '83, has been named MSU's Athlete of the Decade.
- All-American Trackster Anthony Hamm named George Alderton Male Athlete of the Year.
- Hockey goalie Mike Gilmore won the Chester Brewer Award
- Basketball forward Matt Steigenga won the James Feurig Award.
MSU RADIO TO BLANKET STATE
MSU now boasts the state's largest radio network for college sports. With more than 40 affiliate stations already signed, including Detroit-market giants WCXI-AM for football and CKLW-AM for basketball, it has increased 78 percent in football and 123 percent in basketball from last season. 'We might have missed some trees in the Upper Peninsula,' says Will Tieman, president of TBC Sports, Inc., which will run the network. 'Spartan fans in the state will be hard pressed not to find us on the dial. We hope to galvanize MSU fans. They exist in great numbers, but so far have been an untapped market.'
The football broadcast team features veteran George Blaha as play-by-play announcer, former athletic director Doug Weaver as color analyst, and former Detroit Lions coach Monte Clark as sideline reporter. 'You'll find this team to be real professional,' predicts Ken Hoffman, sports information director.
LOVE, MSU
First year coach Gene Orlando of MSU men's tennis team scored a major coup when he landed Mishiska Washington of Swartz Creek, currently ranked 14th in the nation. Mishiska's older brother Malivai played for the University of Michigan and now ranks among the Top 20 professional players in the world. 'The strongest aspect of my game are my ground strokes and solid baseline play,' says Mishiska. 'I've always liked MSU and hope that I can make a difference to the team.'
GOLF 'FORE' YOU!
Stephen Ruthenberg, the head golf professional at MSU's Forest Akers Golf Courses, has authored a new book called Golf 'Fore!!' Beginners--The Fundamentals (RGS Publishing, 1992). The book has been endorsed by touring professionals like D.A. Weibring and Jim Gallagher, as well as LPGA pro Barb Mucha, a former Spartan golfer who calls the book 'a must for everyone starting the game.' Ruthenberg is an active PGA member and helped MSU receive the 1991 National Golf Foundation's Public Achievement Award for their contributions to promoting golf in America.
MSU PIONEERS RANDOM TESTING
All MSU athletes now face mandatory random testing for performance enhancing drugs. The program, which includes annual drug education seminars and counseling, has been approved by MSU's Board of Trustees. Previously, MSU tested athletes only on reasonable suspicion. MSU's new policy meets NCAA standards and applies to performance drugs such as anabolic steroids.\
A DOMINANT OLYMPIAN
In April, Mel Buschman, '43, M.A. '47, Ph.D. '50, retired MSU extension director and volunteer track coach, was inducted into the Senior Athletes Hall of Fame, Bradenton, FL. Two months later, he won five of nine events at the Senior Olympics Indy Classic in Indianapolis. At age 71, he won the 5,000 meters race-walk, the 100 meters dash, the javelin throw (95- ft.), long jump (12-ft.) and the shot put (35'-9.5'). He was second in the 50 meters dash, the discus throw, the high jump and the softball throw. It is hard to imagine any performance, anywhere, where an athlete so dominated the field.
THE MVP FUND
The MVP Fund was established last spring by former black athletes to aid minorities in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. The program was organized by assistant athletic director Charlie Wilson, assistant football coach Charlie Baggett, academic advisor Greg Croxton, and former athletes Ken Alderson and Greg Brewton. Contributors include Judy Brown-King, Carl Banks and Lorenzo White.
NEW SPARTAN TABLOID
A new tabloid magazine covering MSU sports, The Spartan, will debut this fall. Published by Coman Publishing and officially endorsed by the MSU Dept. of Athletics, the tabloid will come out weekly during football season, twice a month from December through March, and monthly from April through August. The tabloid will cover the three major revenue sports as well as minor sports. The subscription price is $32.95 for 25 issues. Call 800-421-7751.
