No. 18 Michigan State Women’s Golf Heads to NCAA East Regional

   COMPLETE RELEASE: http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/w-golf/spec-rel/050311aae.html#_  EAST LANSING, Mich. – The No. 18 Michigan State women’s

 

 

 

COMPLETE RELEASE: http://www.msuspartans.com/sports/w-golf/spec-rel/050311aae.html#_

 

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The No. 18 Michigan State women’s golf team heads to the NCAA East Regional in Daytona Beach, Fla., this week (Thursday-Saturday, May 5-7) at the LGPA International Legends Course. The Spartans are the No. 6 seed in the 24-team regional.

 

This marks the 13th consecutive year MSU has made postseason play; the Spartans were automatic qualifiers this season after claiming the Big Ten Championship.

The NCAA Women's Golf Championships are divided into three regional sites and conclude with the finals May 18-21 at the Traditions Club Course in Bryan, Texas. Each regional site hosts 24 teams and six individuals, with the top eight teams and two individuals in each region advancing to the finals. The tournament format is 54 holes over three days.

 

“We’ve completed one of our major goals this year, which is to win the Big Ten,” said MSU head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, “but now we have our second one, which is to finish top 10 in the nation. Obviously in order to do that, we have to get to the NCAA Championships.

 

“The weather will be quite different (in Daytona Beach) that what we’ve been playing in, so we’re going to have to make a quick adjustment. I told the team this week that we’re going to play the opposite game. When we go to Florida, it’s going to be very firm and fast. When we’ve been practicing at home, it’s been wet and soggy. So we just have to refocus and set our mind when we get to Florida that this is Florida golf again. We played the NCAA Championships there in 2007, so Lorne (Don) and I have already seen the course six rounds, and we’ll have a lot of inside information for the team. We’re looking forward to it.”

 

The complete field for the NCAA East Regional (in order of seeds) is as follows: Alabama, Purdue, California, Arizona State, Auburn, Michigan State, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Florida, Florida State, Colorado, TCU, Louisville, Mississippi, Texas Tech, Florida International, Coastal Carolina, Augusta State, Yale, Kentucky, Stetson, UNC-Wilmington, Fairleigh-Dickinson and Alabama State.

 

"The field is challenging, as every regional field is - that's why we create the schedule that we do," said Slobodnik-Stoll, as MSU's schedule was ranked the 12th-toughest in the nation by Golfweek. "Our players know that we're one of those teams that can play with anybody. We're going to be paired up with Auburn and Arizona State in the first round, and it's going to be a challenge, just as the Big Ten Championship was. We feel great that our kids are riding high right now. We want to get to Texas A&M to prove how good this team really is.”

 

The Central Florida Sports Commission will serve as the host of the NCAA East Regional. For more information on par 72, 6,271-yard Legends Course at LPGA International, please click visit www.lpgainternational.com.

 

MSU enters the NCAA East Regional after winning the program's ninth Big Ten title April 24 at Lake Shore Country Club in Glencoe, Ill. The Spartans beat fourth-ranked and three-time defending champion Purdue by five strokes, and MSU's total of 1180 was the best 72-hole score ever for the program at the Big Ten Championships. It also marked the third Big Ten title during Slobodnik-Stoll's 14-year career at MSU.

 

Michigan State is listed at No. 18 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. The Spartans have won back-to-back tournaments as they also won the Lady Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio, on April 17. Slobodnik-Stoll has won consecutive tournaments on five occasions throughout her career, with the last back-to-back tournament victories arriving in 2007-08 (Central District Invitational, Texas A&M "Mo" Morial). She has won 28 tournaments total since taking over the program in 1997.

 

The Spartans are led by sophomore Caroline Powers, who leads the team with a 73.84 scoring average and was the top finisher on the team at the Big Ten Championships by taking fourth. The first-team All-Big Ten selection is ranked 30th by Golfweek and has placed in the top 10 in four of her tournaments this season, including a first-place finish at the Lady Buckeye Invitational on April 17. Her 73.84 average is on pace to set an MSU single-season record, currently held by Laura Kueny, who averaged 73.85 last season.

 

Senior Aimee Neff, who also earned first-team All-Big Ten honors along with Powers, is second on the team with a career-best 75.19 average and is also ranked among the top 75 players in the nation at No. 71 by Golfweek. This year marked the first time in her career that Neff has made the first team after being named a second-team All-Big Ten selection the past three seasons. The Carmel, Ind., native placed a season-high fourth at the Lady Buckeye Invitational on April 17 and tied for 19th at the Big Ten Championships.

 

Junior Lindsey Solberg was a second-team All-Big Ten pick this season for the second time in her career. Solberg's best tournament of the season came at the Big Ten Championships, as she placed a season-high fifth to make the All-Championships Team. She led the team with six birdies in the final round, including three on the final four holes, to help lead the Spartans past Purdue for their ninth Big Ten title in school history. Solberg is averaging a career-best 76.06 this season and has three top-15 finishes.

 

Rounding out MSU’s lineup at the NCAA East Regional will be true freshmen Allyssa Ferrell and Christine Meier. Ferrell and Meier came through big for the Spartans at the Big Ten Championships, as they both shot even par in the final round to help MSU win the title. Meier, who owns a 76.96 average, placed a season-best fourth at the Lady Buckeye Invitational April 17 and was named the Big Ten Golfer of the Week after taking 10th at the Central District Invitational Feb. 22. Ferrell has started in seven tournaments and has a 77.82 average.

 

Michigan State's 13 straight NCAA appearances is the third-longest streak in the Big Ten, behind Ohio State (17) and Purdue (14). The Spartans have twice placed third at the NCAA Regionals, in 2001 and 2004.

 

MSU will be looking to make its 10th appearance at the NCAA Championships with a top-eight finish at the NCAA East Regional. The Spartans have participated in the NCAA Championships seven out of the last 11 years, with the last appearance arriving in 2009.

 

Live scoring of the NCAA East Regional will be available at www.golfstat.com. In round one on Thursday, May 5, Michigan State will be paired with Auburn and Arizona State.