| 1999 | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct |
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11/27/99 -
The MSU men's club soccer team participated in the Soccer National Tournament last weekend.
On Thursday morning, playing against Penn State, MSU played well and wound up tied 1-1 at halftime. However, Penn State, taking advantage of a couple of MSU mental mistakes, scored the only goal in the second half to defeat MSU 2-1.
Later that day, MSU went up against Miami of Ohio needing a win to keep their National Championship hopes alive. While MSU played with great effort during the first half, the half ended with neither team scoring. A mistake in the second half once again proved to be MSU's downfall as they received a red card penalty which meant they had to play one man short. MSU held their own for most of the second half but Miami of Ohio scored the game-winning goal off of a deflection with about two minutes left in the game.
On Friday, with nothing to lose, MSU once again played with great effort but lost another 1-0 game, this time to eventual National Champion BYU (4th in the row for BYU).
MSU finished the season 14-4-1. Congrats go out to the players for a great season.
11/16/99 (9:40 a.m.) -
STARKVILLE, Miss. --- A school-record eight Mississippi State University volleyball players are among 62-student athletes named to the 1999 Southeastern Conference Volleyball Academic Honor Roll announced Tuesday by SEC Commissioner Roy Kramer.
Only Louisiana State, with nine academic all-conference honorees, had more representation on the honor squad than Mississippi State. State's previous school mark for academic all-conference plaudits was five set in 1996 and 1997.
Senior setter Jenny Hazelwood (3.56, Fitness Management), became MSU's fifth three-time honoree, while junior middle blocker Brianne Smedley (3.43, Pre-Med) and junior middle blocker Stacey Westfall (3.68, Food, Nutrition, and Dietetics) earned academic all-conference honors for the second time each.
Also earning a berth on the 1999 SEC Volleyball Academic Honor Roll are sophomore Katie Carraro (3.33, General Business Administration), senior Melanie DiMuzio (3.23, Elementary Education), sophomore Emily Mounger (3.14, Special Education) and sophomore Dawn Steinhauser (3.53, Fitness Management).
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore in academic standing, have a 3.0 grade point average for the past year or for a career, and have earned 24 semester hours towards a degree.
Mississippi State athletes have been accorded SEC Academic Honor Roll plaudits 40 times during the 1990s and and five of MSU's 1999 honorees have also been nominated for GTE-CoSIDA Academic All-American Team honors.
Source: MSU Media Relations
11/15/99
OXFORD, Miss. --- The Mississippi Rebels staged a dramatic third game turnaround Sunday afternoon and went on to record a hard-fought 3-2 win over Mississippi State in the 1999 season finale for both teams. UM (10-19, 1-14) earned its first league win of the year and a split of the two-match series, winning 15-9, 8-15, 16-14, 6-15, 15-13.
"It was a disappointing way to finish the season," said third-year MSU head coach Brenda Bowlin. "It was another match that was ours to win. But as we've seen so many times this year, we didn't take advantage of our opportunities and made errors at crucial times in the game."
After tying the match with a 15-8 win in game two, Mississippi State (11-16, 2-13) seemed to have claimed momentum after the break, bolting to an 8-1 lead in game three. UM surged back into contention and built an 11-10 edge before the Bulldogs scored four straight points on Dawn Steinhauser's serve for a 14-11 lead. The Rebels fought off a pair of MSU game-point services and won the game on a pair of MSU hitting errors.
The Bulldogs hit a match-best .275 and never trailed in knotting the match with a 15-6 win in the fourth game. But in the rally-scored fifth stanza UM's Jaime Burns nailed down seven of her 21 kills and the Rebels scored the game's final three points to win the match.
Senior Melanie DiMuzio paced State with 17 kills and 12 digs while another MSU senior, Jennifer Shupe also hit double-double status with 16 kills and a match-high 21 digs. Christine Owen added 16 kills and Brianne Smedley 11 kills and a career-high seven blocks on a team-best .385 hitting night.
Jenny Hazelwood had 58 assists, finishing her career with 5,505 assists, fourth-highest in SEC volleyball history. DiMuzio finished the year as the team's leader in kills with 328 and digs with 348, becoming the eighth Bulldog to reach the 1,000-dig mark in a career and the third this season.
Source: MSU Media Relations
11/14/99
AUBURN, Ala. -- The Mississippi State cross country team closed out its 1999 campaign Saturday by scoring a 16th-place team finish at the NCAA South Region Championships.
For the sixth consecutive meet, three of the Bulldogs' top-five finishers were freshmen at the Auburn University-hosted qualifying meet. First-year performer Ronni Watjus paced MSU in its season-ending cross country event, touring the Indian Pines Golf Course in a personal-best 5K time of 18:07.94 to place 44th overall. Prior to scoring her first team-best performance at Saturday's regional meet, the Moss Point native out of Resurrection Catholic High School had been the Bulldogs' No. 2 finisher in each of the team's last three meets.
In their final collegiate cross country competition, senior twins Monika and Karin Haber finished as MSU's No. 2 and No. 3 runners with respective showings of 69th (18:36.71) and 92nd place (19:05.31) overall. The Habers do have one more season of track and field eligibility remaining this coming spring.
A pair of freshmen occupied Mississippi State's fourth- and fifth-place positions this week, with Martha Hudsonpillar (19:22.12) and Joey Hansen (19:27.00) placing 110th and 114th overall, respectively. Rounding out the Bulldogs' traveling contingent to Auburn were sophomore LeeAnn Ripstra (115th; 19:28.50) and junior Elizabeth Davis (144th; 20:53.36).
The University of South Florida edged SEC powerhouse Florida, 70-89, to claim Saturday's NCAA South Region team title. East Tennessee State senior Catherine Berry captured individual honors in a winning time of 16:51.88.
Coach Al Schmidt's track and field team begins indoor competition in January at the Southern Illinois University Saluki Booster's meet.
1999 NCAA SOUTH REGION CROSS COUNTRY MEET Nov. 13, 1999 -- Auburn, Ala.
TEAM STANDINGS
1. South Florida, 70; 2. Florida, 89; 3. Belmont, 154; 4. Georgia Tech, 175; 5. Georgia, 177; 6. Chattanooga, 189; 7. Alabama, 194; 8. East Tennessee State, 197; 9. Tennessee, 199; 10. Florida State, 274; 11. Georgia State, 283; 12. Vanderbilt, 284; 13. Auburn, 295; 14. UAB, 366; 15. Central Florida, 377; 16. MISSISSIPPI STATE, 405; 17. Florida International, 431; 18. Samford, 454; 19. Jacksonville, 473; 20. Florida A&M, 511; 21. Austin Peay State, 613; 22. Jackson State, 644; 23. Florida Atlantic, 650.
MISSISSIPPI STATE FINISHERS
44. Ronni Watjus, 18:07.94; 69. Monika Haber, 18:36.71; 92. Karin Haber, 19:05.31; 110. Martha Hudsonpillar, 19:22.12; 114. Joey Hansen, 19:27.00; 115. LeeAnn Ripstra, 19:28.50; 144. Elizabeth Davis, 20:53.36.
Source: MSU Media Relations
11/12/99 (10:55 p.m.)
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State cross country team returns to action this weekend, competing in Saturday's NCAA South Regional meet at Auburn, Ala.
Hosted by Auburn University, Saturday's 5K race will be held at the Indian Pines Golf Course. Coach Al Schmidt's squad will be running against 28 women's teams from across the Southeast for a spot in the Nov. 22 NCAA Championships in Bloomington, Ind.
The Bulldog harriers enter Saturday's event following a 10th-place showing at the SEC Championships two weeks ago in Nashville, Tenn. The MSU contingent was led for the fourth time in the last five meets by freshman Joey Hansen, who finished 40th overall. Hansen and fellow freshman Ronni Watjus have finished in the No.1 and No. 2 slots in the last three outings for State.
Also competing for MSU this weekend will be seniors Karin and Monika Haber, junior Elizabeth Davis, sophomore LeeAnn Ripstra and freshman Martha Hudsonpillar.
Source: MSU Media Relations
11/12/99 (10:55 p.m.)
STARKVILLE, Miss. --- Mississippi State's Volleyball Bulldogs added another entry in their record book Friday night, blanking instate SEC rival Mississippi 3-0 (15-3, 15-11, 15-12) for their third consecutive win over the Rebels. MSU swept last year's two-match series against UM, marking the first back-to-back Bulldog wins over the Rebels since the rivalry began 1976.
Seniors Jennifer Shupe and Melanie DiMuzio set the pace for Mississippi State (11-15, 2-12), combining for 20 of MSU's 41 kills. Shupe totaled 11 kills on a solid .391 hitting night while DiMuzio, in the starting lineup a day after sustaining a broken finger in practice, had nine kills and a match-high 13 digs.
"Our seniors really stepped up for us tonight," said third-year MSU coach Brenda Bowlin. "They knew it was their final match at Newell-Grissom and against our rivals, so it was a big match for them. I was especially impressed with the way Melanie played through her finger injury."
In her final appearance at the Newell-Grissom Building, senior setter Jenny Hazelwood became the SEC*s No. 4 career assists leader. The Pearland, Texas, product delivered 36 kill-producing passes Friday night, raising her career total to 5,447 and lifting her past former Kentucky standout Laura Linder.
Mississippi State blitzed the Rebels early. Shupe and DiMuzio had four kills each as State rolled to a 15-3 win. Mississippi (9-19, 0-14) played the Bulldogs close for much of the second game, leading briefly in the early going before State, helped along by a pair of service aces each from Shupe and Christine Owen, pulled away for a 15-11 win and a 2-0 match lead at the break.
State hit at a match-best .382 clip and committed just three hitting errors in winning the match-clinching third game 15-12. Junior middle Brianne Smedley delivered five of her eight kills in the third game as MSU topped the Rebels for the third consecutive time.
"This was a great way for Jenny Hazelwood to finish her career at home --- moving into the No. 4 spot in the SEC in assists," said Bowlin. "She's had a tremendous career at Mississippi State and we're glad that she was able to reach this new milestone at home."
The Bulldogs and the Rebels wrap up their two-match weekend set and their respective 1999 schedules Sunday in Oxford, battling in a 2 p.m. match at UM's Women's Multi-Activity Complex.
Source: MSU Media Relations
11/12/99 (4:45 p.m.)
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State cross country team returns to action this weekend, competing in Saturday's NCAA South Regional meet at Auburn, Ala.
Hosted by Auburn University, Saturday's 5K race will be held at the Indian Pines Golf Course. Coach Al Schmidt's squad will be running against 28 women's teams from across the Southeast for a spot in the Nov. 22 NCAA Championships in Bloomington, Ind.
The Bulldog harriers enter Saturday's event following a 10th-place showing at the SEC Championships two weeks ago in Nashville, Tenn. The MSU contingent was led for the fourth time in the last five meets by freshman Joey Hansen, who finished 40th overall. Hansen and fellow freshman Ronni Watjus have finished in the No.1 and No. 2 slots in the last three outings for State.
Also competing for MSU this weekend will be seniors Karin and Monika Haber, junior Elizabeth Davis, sophomore LeeAnn Ripstra and freshman Martha Hudsonpillar.
Source: MSU Media Relations
11/12/99 -
STARKVILLE, Miss. --- Mississippi State's Volleyball Bulldogs close out their 1999 home season Friday night, playing host to instate SEC rival Mississippi in a 7 p.m. match at the Newell-Grissom Building. There is no charge for admission and a serving contest will be held during the break following the second game.
The Bulldogs (10-15, 1-12) are taking aim on an unprecedented third consecutive win over Mississippi (9-18, 0-13) after sweeping last year's two-match series for the first time in 24 years.
Friday's home finale marks the final appearance for a trio of MSU seniors, outside hitters Melanie DiMuzio and Jennifer Shupe and setter Jenny Hazelwood, who needs 15 assists to move into fourth place among the SEC's career setters. Hazelwood enters the weekend with 5,425 career assists. DiMuzio is also racing toward a milestone, needing 26 digs to become the eighth Bulldog player to reach the four-digit mark in career digs.
The Bulldogs and the Rebels close out their seasons in a Sunday rematch (2 p.m.) at UM's Multi-Sport Complex.
Source: MSU Media Relations
11/10/99
The MSU men's club Soccer team, now 14-1, captured the SCSL Championship this past weekend in Selma, Alabama with a 2-0 victory over Tennessee and a 5-0 revenge victory over Alabama in the championship game. This championship is their first since 1996.
MSU's Patrick Stone was Tournament MVP while two other Bulldogs, Paul Roy and Michael Dibiase made the All-Tournament Team. They now head off to the National Tournament next Tuesday in Statesboro, Georgia.
Because the team is a club team, it does not receive any funds from MSU, therefore, they have to finance the trip themselves. What they do, they do for the love of the game and to represent MSU. If you would like to help them out financially, you can send a donation to MSU Men's Soccer Team, P.O Box 5159, Mississippi State, MS. 39762.
11/10/99
STARKVILLE, Miss. --- Too many close losses in conference play will keep Mississippi State's Volleyball Bulldogs from extending their season to the 1999 SEC Volleyball Tournament next week in Knoxville, Tenn. But MSU's scrappy 1999 team has plenty at stake when it closes out the season with this weekend's two-game set against SEC Western Division rival Mississippi.
The Bulldogs (10-15, 1-12) entertain the Rebels (10-18, 0-13) at the Newell-Grissom Building Friday at 7 p.m. in the final home appearance for Bulldog seniors Melanie DiMuzio, Jenny Hazelwood and Jennifer Shupe. MSU and UM take their volleyball rivalry to Oxford Sunday at 2 p.m. in the season finale for both teams.
There is no charge for admission to Friday's season finale and fans will have an opportunity to serve for Pizza Hut pizzas during the promotional break.
"We're been playing some of our best volleyball of the season lately and want to close out the year on a winning note," said third-year MSU coach Brenda Bowlin. "There's no doubt in my mind that we're a better team this year. But we've been inconsistent on offense. With a small (10) squad playing in the SEC, an off-night by a player here or there really hurts us."
MSU, after registering its first win over Auburn since 1996 in its last home outing Oct. 31, made strong showings on the road last weekend against the Western Division's top two teams. State claimed a game against Arkansas for the first time since 1994 in a 3-1 loss at No. 21 Arkansas last Friday and extended LSU to five games in a 3-2 setback in Baton Rouge.
With two matches remaining, Mississippi State has already bettered its 1998 win total (9-22), and with a pair of weekend wins would become the first MSU volleyball team to finish the year with consecutive wins.
"Picking up a couple of wins against our rivals would be a great way to close out the season, especially for our seniors," Bowlin continued. "Individually they've established themselves as some of the best to have played volleyball at Mississippi State. And as a group they've been a part of more SEC wins (13) than any other class of players in our history."
Senior setter Jenny Hazelwood, with 5,411 career assists, is just 15 scoring passes away from becoming the SEC's No. 4 all-time career leader in assists. She already owns the MSU record for assists in a match (83), season (1,541) and career (5,411).
Additionally, Jennifer Shupe enters the weekend as MSU's No. 4 all-time kills leader (1,187) and No. 3 all-time digs leader (1,236). Melanie DiMuzio has cracked MSU's career top 10 lists in both kills (No. 9 with 780) and digs (No. 9 with 974). This season's team leader in both kills and digs needs just 26 more digs to become the third Bulldog this season to reach the 1,000-dig milestone and the ninth in MSU history.
Source: MSU Athletic Department Media Relations
11/08/99
BATON ROUGE, La. --- Mississippi State battled back from a 2-0 deficit Sunday afternoon and extended Louisiana State to five games before dropping 3-2 SEC volleyball decision at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The win gave LSU (16-12, 6-6) a sweep of the season series and pulled the Tigers into a three-way tie for second place in the SEC West.
Seniors Kelly Thompson and Meg Norwood combined for 36 kills as LSU prevailed 15-6, 15-7, 8-15, 1-15, 15-10.
"We gave them a run after falling behind early," said coach Brenda Bowlin. "We could never get any momentum going in those first two games. But we made some adjustments at the break and came back to play a pretty decent match. We had some hitting errors in the fifth game that hurt us, but we certainly had an excellent opportunity to nail down another SEC win on the road."
The Tigers pulled away from a tight early battle to win the opening game 15-6 and powered to a 2-0 match lead with a 15-7 advantage in the second game.
Mississippi State (10-15, 1-12) trailed 6-5 in the third contest but outscored the Tigers 10-2 to stay alive in the match with a 15-8 win. Freshman Misty Hubenthal and Jennifer Shupe led the charge with five kills each in the game. The Bulldogs then posted their most lopsided game win of the season in the fourth stanza, blitzing the Tigers 15-1. Hubenthal added seven kills as State out-hit the Tigers .271 to .067.
But LSU's Norwood and Thompson reemerged in the match, combining for seven kills and MSU committed five costly hitting errors as the Tigers nailed down the win 15-10.
Christine Owen finished with 17 kills and 16 digs, Misty Hubenthal 15 kills, and Jennifer Shupe 12 kills and 14 digs to pace MSU. Katie Carraro added 12 digs and Michele Gordon added six blocks.
Mississippi State returns to action Friday, No. 12 at 7 p.m., playing host to instate SEC rival Mississippi in the final home match of the 1999 campaign at the Newell-Grissom Building.
Source: MSU Athletic Department Media Relations
11/06/99
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. --- Mississippi State continued its late-season surge but fell short in a bid to upset 25th-ranked Arkansas Friday night, falling 3-1 to the Lady Razorbacks at Barnhill Arena.
The Bulldogs (10-14, 1-11) stunned the Razorbacks, fighting off a series of game point services before bowing 17-15. State rallied from a 10-6 deficit, fending off a pair of game-point services en route to a 17-15 win. But Arkansas (22-5, 11-1), which earlier this season nailed down its sixth consecutive SEC Western Division crown, roared back to life after the break for a 15-5 win and erased an 8-4 Bulldog lead to record a match-clinching 15-10 fourth-game win.
MSU next travels to Baton Rouge, La., to wrap up the weekend road series Sunday at LSU.
"We were very capable of winning this match tonight," said coach Brenda Bowlin. "We had our opportunities and didn't take advantage of them. Our passing broke down in games three and four, and that's when they're blocking strength took over. Even though it was a loss and we're not going to make the SEC Tournament, we saw that we have some kids that want to step it up and play hard."
Jennifer Shupe, in the most productive outing of her senior season, turned in a season-high 25-kill performance, 12 of those coming in the opening game when she hit at a .375 clip. Another Bulldog veteran sparked the Bulldogs' second-game surge. Christine Owen nailed 10 kills, hit .471 and served for the final three points to give MSU its first win in a game over Arkansas since 1994.
Shupe added 13 digs to her match-high 25 kills to lead a trio of Bulldogs reaching double-double status. Owen finished with 16 kills and 13 digs and a team-best .241 hitting mark while Melanie DiMuzio slammed 13 kills to go with a match-high 18 digs.
Arkansas placed five players in double figures in kills, with All-SEC standout Yarleen Santiago and Eftila Tanellari leading the way with 17 each. But it was at the net where the talented Lady Razorbacks won the match. The SEC blocking leaders piled up a whopping 24 team blocks, three block solos and a dozen assists by Libby Windell and 10 block assists by setter Ning Zhao.
Jenny Hazelwood added 11 digs and 62 assists and middle blocker Brianne Smedley matched a career-high with seven total blocks.
"I was pleased to see Jennifer and Christine perform well tonight," said Bowlin. "They came to play and set the tone for the night. But again, you have to give Arkansas credit. They're a strong team that will represent the SEC West very well in the NCAA tournament later this month."
Source: MSU Athletic Department Media Relations
11/04/99
STARKVILLE, Miss. --- Mississippi State's Volleyball Bulldogs hit the road this weekend for Fayetteville, Ark., and Baton Rouge, La., for their final regular season road competition. Chances they'll be accompanied by plenty of college text books. Half of that 10-player MSU squad has qualified for the initial balloting for the 1999 GTE-CoSIDA Academic All-America Team to be announced later this month. Last fall senior middle blocker Jill Ferguson became the second player in MSU volleyball history accorded GTE-CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
Earning a berth on the CoSIDA District VI ballot are sophomore Katie Carraro of Louisville, Ky., (3.33 GPA in General Business Administration), sophomore Michele Gordon of Littleton, Colo. (3.34 GPA in International Business), senior Jenny Hazelwood of Pearland, Texas (3.56 GPA in Fitness Management), junior Brianne Smedley of Arlington, Texas (3.43 GPA in Pre-Medicine), and sophomore Dawn Steinhauser of Port Byron, Ill., (3.53 GPA in Fitness Management).
"It's not easy for any student to meet those requirements, and it's even more difficult when you consider all the hours they also must put into their athletic careers," said Michelle Jenkins, MSU academic counselor for women's sports. "I'm so proud of them, both as individual students and as a volleyball team. It shows the strong commitment they have."
A sixth Mississippi State player, sophomore middle blocker Stacey Westfall of Allen, Texas, also met the academic requirement (a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or better). Westfall, a projected starter at the net for MSU this season, was sidelined early in the season by a knee injury and did not meet participation requirements.
"Our players have worked very hard on and off the court, and it's tremendous to see them recognized for that hard work," said MSU volleyball coach Brenda Bowlin. "It's a great indicator of our continuing commitment to excellence in the classroom and on the court as well as to the diligent work of Mississippi State's Office of Athletic Academics."
The five MSU volleyball players join Bulldog football junior place kicker Scott Westerfield of Brandon, Miss., as Mississippi State nominees for fall academic all-America honors sponsored by GTE and selected by members of CoSIDA, the national association of college sports publicists.
Source: MSU Athletic Media Relations
11/01/99
The men's soccer team defeated Murray State 8 to 1 to conclude their regular season play. After leading 2-0 at the half, MSU came back with goals by Rob Fike (2), Patrick Stone, Scott Heranney and Ricky Rives for the final score. With yesterday's victory, MSU captured the SCSL Western Division Championship and a number one seed at this weekend's SCSL final four at Cordaria College in Selma, AL. In their first game, MSU will play Tennessee at 12:30 p.m on Saturday. The finals and consolation championship will be played on Sunday.
Patrick Stone captured the Golden Boot Award from the most goals scored during the regular season with 13.