Spartans Andre Rison, Dean Look named to Michigan Sports Hall of Fame
Former Michigan State All-Americans Dean Look and Andre Rison have been selected to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2017.
Look and Rison will be the 22nd and 23rd former Spartan players to be inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. The 2017 induction ceremony is set for Friday, Sept. 15 at the Max Fisher Music Center in Detroit.
Look, who was inducted into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007, played football under coach Duffy Daugherty (1957-59) and baseball under coach John Kobs (1958-59) during his playing days at MSU. The Lansing native was named the baseball team MVP in 1958 and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection after leading the team in six offensive categories.
More:Lansing star, two-sport pro and NFL referee Dean Look reflects on a ‘blessed’ life
After playing halfback his first two seasons, Look made the switch to quarterback in 1959. The moved paid off, as Look was the only player in the country to be named to UPI's Backfield of the Week three times. He led the team in total offense (875 yards), passing (785 yards), all-purpose yards (701) and scoring (24 points), was named team MVP, and earned first-team All-America honors by the Football Writers Association and Football News. Look was also named first-team All-Big Ten at quarterback. In addition, he was the team’s leading punter in 1958 and 1959.
A four-year letterman for coach George Perles from 1985-88, Rison closed out his career as Michigan State's all-time leader in receptions (146), receiving yards (2,992) and 100-yard receiving games (11). A two-time First-Team All-Big Ten selection (1986, 1988), Rison led team in receptions for three straight seasons. He was inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015.
As a 5-foot-11, 195-pound senior in 1988, Rison was named a first-team All-American by Gannett News Service after ranking second on the team with 1,045 all-purpose yards, averaging 21.8 yards on 48 touches. He caught 39 passes for 961 yards (24.6 avg.) and a career-best eight TDs. Rison led the Big Ten in receptions, TD catches and yards per catch. His 24.6 yards per catch ranked second in the nation. In his final game in a Spartan uniform, he had nine receptions for a career-high 252 yards and career-best three TDs in a 34-27 loss to Georgia in the 1989 Gator Bowl. Rison, who scored on TD grabs of 4, 55 and 50 yards, was selected MSU's Gator Bowl MVP.
Rison still ranks among MSU's career leaders in receiving yards (second with 2,993), 100-yard receiving games (second with 11), yards per catch (third with 20.49 avg.), receptions (fifth with 146) and TD receptions (tied for fifth with 20).
FIELD HOCKEY
Three selected for USA Field Hockey YWNC
Rising juniors Madison O'Neill (Harrisburg, Penn.) and Samantha Siegel (Bedminster, NJ) and rising sophomore Hannah Ackers (Whitehaven, Penn.) have all been selected to participate in the 2017 Young Women’s National Championship.
The YMNC serves as a high-level, international structured competition which is a selection avenue to Junior National Camps and the Development Squad Camp. This event will take place at the Spooky Nook Sports in Lancaster, Pa. from June 12-16, 2017.
SOFTBALL
Lea Foerster named NFCA Second Team All-American
Junior Lea Foerster (Portage, Mich.) has been named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association Second Team All-American, as announced this afternoon. Foerster is one of nine Big Ten honorees, and one of four on the NFCA Second Team.
Foerster was also an All-Big Ten selection and helped lead MSU into a regional final of the National Invitational Softball Championship. With a final record of 34-24, the Spartans had their most wins since the 2007 season.
Foerster led the Big Ten in doubles (26), runs (70), total bases (144) and hit by pitch (20), ranked second in slugging (.796), third on-base percentage (.520), fourth in hits (72), sixth in batting average (.398) and seventh in RBI (49). Entering the final weekend of Division I softball, Foerster leads the country in doubles and is second in doubles per game (0.45) and runs scored per contest (1.21), ranks third in total bases, 21st in slugging percentage, and 24th in on-base percentage.
Foerster has established new single-season MSU records in doubles (26), runs scored (70), and extra-base hits (42). Her .398 average was seventh all-time in a single season at MSU, while her 14 homers ranks second, 72 base hits ranks sixth, her 49 RBI is fifth, and 72 base hits is sixth.
On the career front, Foerster is MSU's all-time run-scoring leader (158), while posting an MSU-record 53 career doubles, 86 extra-base hits (second) 10 triples (tied for 10th), 23 homers (sixth) and her 195 career base knocks is tied for ninth in the Spartan annals.
- MSU Athletic Communications