07/23/03
Softball
HAYWARD, Calif. ­ USA Elite, skippered by Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller, continued its roll through summer competition as the squad swept a five-game series from Olympic bronze medalist Australia last week in California.

Former Mississippi State all-American Kellie Wilkerson finished 3-for-15 (also 4 walks, 3 runs scored) in the five-game set with the Aussies. Current MSU all-American Iyhia McMichael, finished the set 2-for-13, but added two walks and a game-winning RBI.

Wilkerson finished international competition (including Canada Cup play, July 4-13) with a .304 (14-for-46) average to go along with six extra-base hits, 11 walks, five RBI and 14 runs scored. She proved successful on five of eight stolen base attempts and finished the tour with a team-best .448 on-base percentage. McMichael completed international competition with a .111 (3-for-27) clip, including one home run, four RBI and four runs scored. She also finished 5-for-8 in the stolen base department while also drawing three walks.

USA Elite continued its torrid pace in the San Francisco suburbs, rolling over the Aussies, 5-2 and 3-1, in the opening doubleheader at Palo Alto's Boyd & Jill Smith Stadium on Wednesday. In Thursday's action at Sunnyvale's Twin Creek Stadium, McMichael's RBI single in the bottom of the 14th inning completed a 4-hour and 14-minute marathon 4-3 victory for the Elite. The USA squad completed its sweep on Friday at Hayward's Larry Standley Field, dropping the Aussies 3-1 and 6-1. Wilkerson was 1-for-3 in both contests. The Elite Team will return home until July 30th when they travel to Orlando to face the USA National Team in a series of exhibition games. The series will help to prepare the National Team for the 2003 Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, August 4-17.

Source: MSU Media Relations07/22/03
Cross Country
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State Director of Athletics Larry Templeton announced that after a seven-year absence, the school would compete in men's cross country during the fall 2003 campaign.

Coinciding with this decision, MSU will not field a men's indoor track team in 2004, concentrating solely in cross country and outdoor track.

"With the lengthening of the outdoor track and field season to mid-June, the addition of men's cross country and the elimination of indoor track will only strengthen our program," head track coach Al Schmidt said. "With the addition of regional competition between the SEC and NCAA Championships, the indoor season created too much stress for our athletes."

"We have been competing in outdoor meets without distance athletes and basically had eliminated as many as four events at every meet. This move will do nothing but strengthen our program," Schmidt added.

The Bulldogs have signed nine cross country athletes to begin their 44th season of competition. Associate head track coach Steve Dudley will assume the role of head coach of the men's cross country squad. Dudley has been on the Bulldogs' staff for the past three seasons. He formerly was the head track and cross country coach at Bevill State Community College, where he led the Bears to Region 22 cross country titles in 1998-99. His 1998 team finished third nationally in the NJCAA.

Schmidt keeps his duties as head women's cross country coach and head track coach.

State has won five SEC cross country titles in school history, taking three in a row from 1960-62. 07/17/03
Soccer
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State soccer head coach Neil McGuire announced the final addition to his coaching staff Wednesday afternoon with the hiring of former Birmingham Southern assistant coach Ja'net Esparza. Her hiring is pending approval by the Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning.

Esparza, who joined the BSC coaching staff prior to the 2002 campaign, brings with her volumes of expertise in the areas of offensive coaching, student-athlete recruiting and program administration, as well as solid experience as a player.

"We have been looking for a dynamic personality to join our staff, and have found it in Ja'net," McGuire said. "She is a young lady who works very hard at the craft of coaching and will be a valuable asset to this program."

Noted by UTEP as possibly the greatest women's soccer player in school history, Esparza holds virtually every offensive record at the institution, including shots (169), goals (25), points (64) and game-winning goals (9). She was a four-time member of the WAC all-conference squad and was twice selected to the league's academic honor roll. In 1996, she was named WAC Freshman of the Year and, following the 1999 season, received the Arthur Ashe Jr. Scholar Athlete award. Her team's combined record over her final two seasons in El Paso was an impressive 21-14-4.

Following her playing career with the Miners, Esparza joined the UTEP coaching staff as a graduate assistant prior to the 2000 season, then became a full time staff member for the 2001 campaign. Over the course of the past two years, she has also acquired two stints as a club coach, including being named head coach of the U-15 Birmingham Attack Soccer Club and assistant coach for the U-14 El Paso Force Soccer Club. She has also served coaching stints with the Alabama Olympic Development Program, as well as a camp clinician for the UTEP Soccer Camps.

"I am extemely happy to be working for Mississippi State and Neil McGuire," Esparza said. "I have heard so many great things about Neil and I am very excited to now experience them first-hand. I know that I will learn so much more now that I am a part of his staff and am looking forward to helping Mississippi State compete for an SEC Championship."

The El Paso native graduated from UTEP in 1999 with a Bachelor's Degree in Kinesiology. She is currently finishing work on her Master's Degree in that subject, also at UTEP. She currently holds her United States Soccer Federation "C" coaching license.

Source: MSU Media Relations

Both the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs earned the ITA's All-Academic Team Award, which went to squads that recorded a cumulative 3.20 grade point average or higher for the year. State's men's roster notched a very impressive 3.63 team GPA in earning the ITA's team award for the fourth straight year. The Lady Bulldogs posted a solid 3.22 mark to claim the laurel for the seventh consecutive season. Mississippi State was the only school in the Southeastern Conference to have both its men's and women's squads earn the team award. In fact, State's men were the only male team in the league to be honored and one of only 24 nationally.

On the individual level, four of State's men's tennis student-athletes earned the ITA Scholar-Athlete Award. To qualify, a player must hold a 3.5 GPA for the year, be a varsity letterwinner, and have been enrolled at least two semesters at their present school.

Departed Bulldog senior Rene-Charles Combette, with a 3.77 GPA in international business, earned his second appointment to the squad. Joining Combette were Bulldogs Romain Ambert, Luiz Carvalho and Jerome Le Belicard, who were all first-time honorees for the award. The senior-to-be Ambert notched a 3.60 grade point in business administration in 2002-03. Carvalho, who will be a junior in 2003-04, had a team-best 3.83 GPA in journalism/broadcasting. Le Belicard, who also leaves MSU after a four-year career, was a 3.67 student in marketing.

Source: MSU Media Relations