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Big Ten Announces Winter Academic All-Conference
Teams Park Ridge, IL -- As the winter term of the 2003-04 school year comes to a close, the Big Ten recognizes a total of 409 winter sports student-athletes who have been named to the Academic All-Conference Team. The list of honored student-athletes features 28 men’s and 47 women’s basketball players, 30 men’s and 49 women’s gymnasts, 83 men’s and 125 women’s swimmers and divers and 47 wrestlers. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, athletes must be letter winners in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a career grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better. At least three Big Ten student-athletes have maintained unblemished GPAs, including a gymnast and a pair of swimmers from three separate institutions. Ohio State sophomore gymnast Emily Sineway (Exploring) maintains an unblemished GPA and is joined in the exclusive group by two sophomore swimmers in Minnesota’s Abigail Ruess (Accounting) and Purdue’s Mark Wolfred (Engineering). The Big Ten Academic All-Conference honorees also achieved excellence outside of the classroom. Penn State senior Kelly Mazzante (Advertising & Public Relations) was named the Academic All-American of the Year, the nation’s top honor, while collecting back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Year awards and becoming the League’s all-time leading scorer. Additional First Team All-Big Ten selections who garnered academic honors include Lady Lions’ teammate Tanisha Wright (Jr., Elementary Education), the two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and Minnesota’s Lindsay Whalen (Sr., Sports Management). Also on the court, Michigan State junior Chris Hill (Finance) was tabbed as a First Team Academic All-American after earning Third Team accolades last year, becoming the first Big Ten men’s basketball player to be selected in back-to-back seasons since PSU’s John Amaechi in 1994 and 1995. Hill was joined on the All-Big Ten Second Team by another Academic All-League pick in Illinois sophomore Dee Brown (Sport Management). In women’s gymnastics, Michigan junior Elise Ray (English) equaled a Big Ten Championships record by winning four events, becoming just the third student-athlete in Conference annals to accomplish that feat. On the men’s side, a pair of back-to-back League champions also garnered Academic All-Big Ten accolades as Illinois’ Ben Newman (Jr., Finance) repeated as the pommel horse winner while Michigan’s Andrew DiGiore (So, Biomedical Engineering) won the vault for the second straight year. In the pool, Wisconsin’s Bethany Pendleton (Sr., Biology) was named the Big Ten Swimmer of the Year and the Championships while Ohio State’s Mitch Richeson (Jr., Computer Science Engineering) collected Conference Diver of the Year honors. In wrestling, the Illini’s Alex Tirapelle (So., Accountancy) was chosen as the Big Ten Wrestler of the Year and Championship while collecting academic laurels.
Michigan State Wrestling's Big Ten Academic All-Conference Honorees:
U.S. announces rosters for the The U.S. rosters have been completed for the 2004 Pan American Championships, which will be held in Guatemala City, Guatemala, May 6-7. The men’s freestyle team includes two current U.S. National Team members: Kirk White (Tacoma, Wash./Dave Schultz WC) at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Brian Keck (Cleveland, Ohio/New York AC) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. White won a silver medal at the 2003 Pan American Championships and Keck won a gold. Competing at 84 kg/185 lbs. will be Andy Hrovat (Ann Arbor, Mich./New York AC), a recent winner of the East Regional Olympic Team Trials Qualifier. Hrovat was a three-time NCAA All-American at Michigan. Clint Musser (Akron, Ohio/New York AC), a 1999 NCAA finalist for Penn State, will compete at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. Also competing are college stars Nick Simmons (Williamston, Mich./Michigan WC) at 55 kg/121 lbs., Tom Clum (Arvada, Colo./Wisconsin WC) at 60 kg/132 lbs. and Tommy Rowlands (Columbus, Ohio/Dave Schultz WC) at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. Simmons was an NCAA All-American in 2003 for Michigan State, Clum was the 2004 Big Ten champion for Wisconsin and Rowlands was a two-time NCAA champion for Ohio State. Coaching the men’s freestyle team will be Team Excel coach Steve Knight (Parker, Colo.) Last year, in men’s freestyle competition, the U.S. team captured six medals overall. Winning gold medals were Jesus Wilson at 60 kg/132 lbs., Lee Fullhart at 84 kg/185 lbs., Dean Morrison at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. and Keck at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.
Pan American
Championships at Guatemala City, Guatemala, May 6-7
Andy Simmons receives the Freshman Andy Simmons received the Outstanding Wrestler award at the 2004 MSU wrestling team awards banquet held at the Kellogg Center on Sunday. Andy compiled a 31-11 season record with 5 falls, leading the team in wins. The Collins-Mikles Leadership Award went to senior Nate Mesyn. The other award recipients were as follows:
Most Falls Award –
Spencer Nadolsky (13-9 w/6 falls)
PRE-SEEDS FOR 2004 BIG TEN PARK RIDGE, IL – The preliminary seeds for the 2004 Big Ten Wrestling Championships were announced today by Conference officials. The pre-seeds are determined by a vote amongst the League’s head wrestling coaches after consideration of regular-season results. The 2004 Big Ten Wrestling Championships will take place on Saturday, March 6, and Sunday, March 7, at St. John Arena on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The Championships bracket will be set on Friday, March 5. Iowa leads the way with three No. 1 pre-seeds as Luke Eustice (125 lbs.), Cliff Moore (141 lbs.) and Tyler Nixt (174 lbs.) earned the top spots in their respective divisions. Moore is the defending Big Ten champion at 141 lbs., while Nixt was a runner-up in 2003. Michigan, Illinois and Ohio State each have a pair of No. 1 preliminary seeds entering the Championships. The Wolverines and Illini tied in Big Ten dual standings this season with 7-1 League records. Michigan’s Foley Dowd (133 lbs.) and Ryan Churella (149 lbs.) are among the top seeds, along with Illinois’ Alex Tirapelle (157 lbs.) and Brian Glynn (184 lbs.). Tirapelle was ranked No. 1 in the nation in his weight class according to Intermat last week, as was Ohio State’s Tommy Rowlands, the League’s No. 1 pre-seed in the heavyweight division. John Clark (165 lbs.) is the Buckeyes’ other No. 1 pre-seed. Minnesota’s Damion Hahn, the defending Big Ten champion at 197-lbs., rounds out the list of top pre-seeds. Hahn will lead the Golden Gophers in their attempt to record a fourth-consecutive Big Ten Championships crown. Minnesota (126.5 points) held off Iowa (121 points) last year to capture the 2003 team title. Tickets may be purchased by contacting the Ohio State Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-GO BUCKS or on-line at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com. The Ohio State Athletic Ticket Office is located in the southeast rotunda of the Jerome Schottenstein Center and is open Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET. The complete list of pre-seeds follows. 2004 BIG TEN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS PRELIMINARY SEEDS
125 lbs.
CSTV AND BIG TEN CONFERENCE GREATLY EXTEND AND EXPAND RELATIONSHIP TO INCLUDE CSTV TELECASTS OF 10 BIG TEN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS CSTV Becomes “The New Home of Big Ten Championships” Via Multi-Year, Multi-Sport Programming and Marketing Partnership With Conference That Also Includes Video-On-Demand, Broadband and High-Definition Coverage
Network To Televise Big
Ten Championships In Baseball, Soccer, Wrestling, NEW YORK, February 18, 2004 – Based on the success of their initial relationship, CSTV: College Sports Television (www.cstv.com), the first 24-hour college sports network, and the Big Ten Conference have extended and expanded their partnership into a multi-year, multi-sport programming and marketing partnership that will feature CSTV televising no fewer than 10 men’s and women’s Big Ten Championships per year. College Sports TV, “The New Home of Big Ten Championships,” will televise more Big Ten Championships than any other network: baseball, men’s soccer and women’s soccer, men’s swimming and diving and women’s swimming and diving, wrestling, men’s track and field and women’s track and field, softball, and men’s gymnastics and women’s gymnastics. College Sports TV will also televise an expanded schedule of Big Ten regular season action as a result of individual agreements with Big Ten institutions, including women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, ice hockey, volleyball, wrestling and baseball. In addition, College Sports TV may also present Big Ten action as part of its video-on-demand, broadband and high-definition offerings. Since launching in April of 2003, College Sports TV has televised a variety of Big Ten regular season sports, including men’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s lacrosse, field hockey, the 2003 Big Ten Men’s Soccer Championship and the 2003 Big Ten Women’s Soccer Tournament. Big Ten teams and student-athletes are featured extensively on the network’s two live studio shows, CSTV Primetime and CSTV Scoreboard, which originate from the CSTV Fieldhouse in New York. In addition, student-athletes from the University of Illinois and the University of Michigan have been honored as part of College Sports TV’s “Student-Athlete of the Week” and “Student-Athlete of the Month” initiative, which launched last fall. CSTV’s first telecasts as part of its extended and expanded partnership with the Conference will be the Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships on Sunday, March 7. The Men’s Championships will air March 7 at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT and the Women’s Championships will follow at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. “Our initial association with the Big Ten has been extremely successful and, as a result, we are significantly broadening our relationship,” said Chris Bevilacqua, co-founder and executive vice president, CSTV. “Our Big Ten telecasts have provided unprecedented national television exposure for the Conference’s teams and student-athletes while College Sports TV viewers have had front-row seats for the finest in intercollegiate athletic action. As we approach our first anniversary in April, this expanded and extended Big Ten partnership is a clear indicator of the value that leading athletic conferences and universities have seen in College Sports TV.” “The Big Ten’s partnership with College Sports TV will provide a welcome increase in television opportunities for our men’s and women’s championships,” said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany. “This relationship allows us to highlight the Big Ten’s outstanding student-athletes and enhances the overall experience for all involved.” CSTV’s Spring Big Ten Championship Telecast Schedule (all times ET) Sunday, March 7 Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships, 6 p.m. Sunday, March 7 Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, 7 p.m. Monday, March 8 Wrestling Championships, 8 p.m. Saturday, March 27 Women’s Gymnastics Championships, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 27 Men’s Gymnastics Championships, 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 15 Softball Tournament, TBD Monday, May 24 Men’s & Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships, TBD Saturday, May 29 Baseball Tournament, TBD schedule subject to change CSTV, the first 24-hour college sports network, is available to more than 15 million homes nationally on cable and satellite. The network is available on Adelphia and Insight cable systems, among others, and is also available on DirecTV (channel 610). For information on CSTV availability in particular markets, consumers can log on to www.cstv.com or call their cable or satellite operator. CSTV has covered more college sports than any other network since launching last April. The network has televised almost 4,000 hours of original programming spanning 30 men’s and women’s college sports, including basketball, football, baseball, hockey, soccer, lacrosse and volleyball. College Sports TV’s event, studio and original programs have covered more than 1,000 colleges and universities across all NCAA divisions and the NAIA. College Sports TV televises regular season and championship event coverage from every major collegiate athletic conference, and also televises nine NCAA Championships. The network also has a programming and marketing agreement with the U.S. Olympic Committee. College Sports Television was co-founded by President/CEO Brian Bedol, Chairman Stephen Greenberg and Executive Vice President Chris Bevilacqua. Bedol and Greenberg co-founded Classic Sports Network, which they sold to ESPN and which is now ESPN Classic. Bevilacqua is a former senior executive with Nike Inc., where he headed the company’s successful foray into the college market.
Williamston, Mich., native has been invited Jan. 28, 2004 EAST LANSING, Mich. - Andy Simmons, Michigan State's seventh-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds, has been invited to wrestle at the 38th annual National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) All-Star Classic Monday, Feb. 2. The 2004 NWCA All-Star Classic is hosted by Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, at the UNI-Dome. Simmons will face Northern Iowa's Dylan Long, the 2003 national runner-up at 141 pounds, for the second time this season. The Williamston, Mich., native is 22-6 on the season, 5-2 in dual meets and 2-0 in Big Ten action. He faced UNI's Long at the Midlands Championships on Dec. 27, 2003, and pinned the 2003 NCAA runner-up in 5:08 en route to a fourth-place finish at 141. Long is a senior All-American and three-time NCAA qualifier. "It is a terrific honor to be invited to the NWCA All-Star Classic, especially as a freshman," said MSU head coach Tom Minkel. "The All-Star is really one of the great wrestling matches of the year, and we know Andy will represent Michigan State well." Michigan State hosted the prestigious NWCA All-Star Classic in February, 2000, at Jenison Field House. The Classic is designed for the mid-season No. 1 and No. 2 wrestlers in the nation at each weight to face each other. Simmons, ranked as high as seventh by thewrestlingmall.com and in the top 10 by all four polls will battle Long, who is ranked as high as seventh by Amateur Wrestling News and in the top 10 by all four polls. Simmons, who is currently undefeated in Big Ten action, and the Spartans travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to face UM Friday (Jan. 30) at Cliff Keen Arena. Michigan State continues Big Ten action Sunday (Feb. 1) against Iowa in Iowa City. MSU returns to East Lansing and Jenison Field House Feb. 8 when the Spartans host Purdue at 1 p.m.
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