Leelanau Sports Guy’s World

MSU’s two senior stars Liz Shimek and Lindsay Bowen share some of their thoughts on friendship, Michigan State and the NCAA Tourney. They are getting ready to lead the #4 seeded Spartans into battle with Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Shimek is MSU’s all-time leading scorer and Bowen is second. Something I thought was great is they have both started every game (128) since they have been at East Lansing.

Read MSU’S HIGH-SCORING SENIORS: They changed the game in the Freep

Eric Voison is a big part of Hope College’s success. The senior center is averaging 9.7 points and 6.8 rebounds as the Flying Dutchman have advanced to the Division III Sweet 16. Next up they play Wittenberg University today for a chance to move on. Hope is 28-2 on the season.

View Division III Bracket at NCAASports.com
Hope Men’s Basketball Official Site

Liz Shimek did all she could, but it wasn’t quite enough as Michigan State lost in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals to Ohio State 68-64. Shimek scored 23 points on 10-17 shooting, but the rest of the team struggled. In the two Big Ten Tournament games Shimek averaged 27 points including a career-high 31 in a win over Iowa. The Spartans finished the regular season 22-9 and await the NCAA Tournament selection show to see where they are seeded for March Madness.

Read Shimek carrying load on offense in the Detroit News

Former Glen Lake Laker Liz Shimek keeps adding accolades to her hoops resume. Her latest is being named first-team All-Big Ten. She is the first player in MSU history to score over 1,500 points and grab more than 1,000 rebounds.

Read MSU women rake in Big Ten honors in the Lansing State Journal
Read Shimek is first team All-Big Ten in the Record Eagle

Albion used a big first half and cruised to a 85-46 win over Adrian college to improve to 16-2 overall and 7-1 in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Former Glen Lake star Drew Hilton scored a career high 6 points in 8 minutes of action. The junior guard finished 2 for 4 from floor making two 3-point shots and added one assist.

Read Albion shoots 61% to roll over MIAA rival Adrian at Albion Sports

Article courtesy of Skip Traynor, Alma College PR Office

Alma College seniors Kelly O’Connor of Suttons Bay and Scott Barriger of Prescott have been named finalists for an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. The College has had 11 NCAA Postgraduate Scholars since 1967.

The NCAA awards up to 174 postgraduate scholarships annually, 87 for men and 87 for women. The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. The one-time scholarships of $7,500 each are awarded for fall sports, winter sports and spring sports at the end of each season.

The final selections for the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship will be made in late February and announced after that date.

Read the Full Story

Tied for most of the season with Calvin College, the Alma College volleyball team outlasted the Knights Oct. 29 and clinched the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) title with a 35-33, 30-28, 30-20 win in Grand Rapids.The Scots improved to 13-1 in the MIAA, 26-5 overall. Calvin finishes the regular season in second place with 12-2 conference record, 24-7 overall.

Junior Lindsey Baker (Chelsea), led the Scots with 36 assists. She added 10 digs and six kills. Junior Kristin Judson (Frankenmuth) topped the stats with 18 digs and added 10 kills. Junior Caitlin Deis (Chelsea) contributed a team-high 14 kills and had 10 digs. Junior Kerri Judson (Frankenmuth) had a team-best four service aces and added 15 digs and five kills. Sophomore Erin Fralick (Petoskey) contributed seven kills and six blocks, Junior Kelly O’Connor (Suttons Bay) had five kills and Kelsee Krull, a freshman from Midland (Dow), had 10 digs.

The Scots host a first round MIAA Championship match Tuesday, Nov. 4. With a win, Alma hosts the semi-final and final matches Thursday, Nov. 7, and Friday, Nov. 8. A combination of regular season standings and results of the conference tournament determines the automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division III Tournament. Alma still has to finish the regular non-conference season against Tri-State Saturday, Nov. 1 at noon. The game is designated Parents Day to show the playersí appreciation for the support of their parents.

For more information on Alma Scots Volleyball please click here.