No. 21 MICHIGAN STATE WOMEN’S GOLF at NCAA EAST REGIONAL

The No. 21 Michigan State women’s golf team heads to the NCAA East Regional in State College, Pa., this week (Thursday-Saturday, May 10-12) at the Penn State

The No. 21 Michigan State women’s golf team heads to the NCAA East Regional in State College, Pa., this week (Thursday-Saturday, May 10-12) at the Penn State Blue Course. The Spartans are the No. 9 seed in the 24-team regional.

This marks the 14th consecutive year MSU has made postseason play; the Spartans were automatic qualifiers this season after claiming the Big Ten Championship for the second straight season.

The NCAA Women’s Golf Championships are divided into three regional sites and conclude with the finals May 23-26 at the Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn.

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.

Michigan State’s streak of 14 straight NCAA appearances is the third-longest in the Big Ten, behind Ohio State (18) and Purdue (15). 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 12 years, with the last appearance arriving in 2009.

“It’s definitely an accomplishment to make the NCAA Regional, it says that you’re one of the best in the country - but truly our goal is to qualify for the national championships,” said MSU head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, who was named the 2012 Big Ten Coach of the Year, marking the third time in her career she has won the award. “We certainly hope to be in the field of the top 24 teams in the nation.”

The Penn State Blue Course, which hosted the Big Ten Championships in 2008, is the site for this year’s NCAA East Regional. The course features a par 72, 6,253-yard layout.

Michigan State enters the NCAA East Regional after winning the program’s 10th Big Ten Championship April 27-29 at the Donald Ross Course at French Lick (Ind.) Resort. The Spartans beat Purdue by 10 strokes. It also marked the fourth Big Ten title during Slobodnik-Stoll’s 15-year career at MSU.

MSU is listed at No. 21 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. In addition to the Big Ten Championships, the Spartans won the 2011 Mary Fossum Invitational in September, which was held at MSU’s Forest Akers West Course. Slobodnik-Stoll has won 30 tournaments total since taking over the program in 1997.

Although the Spartans feature just one senior in their lineup, four of MSU’s five starters have experience playing in the NCAA Regionals. MSU has just missed qualifying for the NCAA Championships the past two seasons, falling short by two strokes in 2010 and four shots in 2011.

“I think their confidence is building after winning two Big Ten Championships,” Slobodnik-Stoll said. “Everyone is feeling very good about their games right now. I just think that year of experience that everyone has (playing in last year’s NCAA East Regional) is going to make us feel a lot more comfortable being in the position of knowing what we have to do to get in the national championship field.”

Junior Caroline Powers, who was named first-team All-Big Ten for the second straight year, leads the team with a 73.77 scoring average and is ranked 29th in the nation by Golfweek. The Bowling Green, Ohio, native has placed in the top 10 in six of MSU’s 10 tournaments this season, including a victory at the Mary Fossum Invitational in September. Powers tied for third at the Big Ten Championships with a 2-over 218 and was named to the All-Championships Team for the second straight year. She currently owns the best career scoring average in Michigan State history with a 74.43 (Laura Kueny second at 74.60).

Senior Lindsey Solberg, a second-team All-Big Ten selection for the third time in her career, tied for third at the Big Ten Championships and is second on the team with a career-best 75.73 scoring average. For her career-best showing at the Big Ten Championships, she garnered all-tournament team honors for the second consecutive season.

Red-shirt sophomore Liz Nagel has been one of the team’s most consistent golfers down the stretch, placing in the top 20 in three of her last four tournaments, and was rewarded as a second-team All-Big Ten pick. Playing in her first career Big Ten Championships, Nagel tied for 18th with a 228. The DeWitt, Mich., native is third on the Spartans with a 75.86 average in seven tournaments. She placed a career-best fourth at the Lady Buckeye Invitational on April 22 and carded a career-low 54-hole score of 216 at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic.

Sophomores Allyssa Ferrell and Christine Meier came up big for the Spartans on the final day of the Big Ten Championships, carding a 73 and a 74, respectively, to help lead MSU to back-to-back Big Ten titles. Ferrell tied for 14th overall with a 225, marking her fourth career top-20 finish, while Meier tied for 36th with a 235. For the season, Ferrell has a 76.56 average, and Meier is at 77.0.

Live scoring of the NCAA East Regional will be available at www.golfstat.com. Michigan State will tee off at 7:30 a.m. for the first round on Thursday, along with Oklahoma State and South Carolina.

Teams (24)

No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Arizona State, No. 8 Duke, No. 17 Texas A&M, No. 13 Florida, No. 14 Arizona, No. 16 Oklahoma State, No. 20 South Carolina, No. 21 Michigan State, No. 23 Washington, No. 30 Texas, No. 34 Tulane, No. 36 Central Florida, No. 42 Wake Forest, No. 44 Northwestern, No. 47 San Diego State, No. 49 Kent State, No. 57 Maryland, No. 64 Augusta State, No. 55 Campbell, No. 69 Chattanooga, No. 102 Oral Roberts, No. 120 Jacksonville State, No. 214 LIU Brooklyn. (Teams listed in order of seeds; all rankings according to Golfweek)