2006-07 Season Preview

Sept. 20, 2006

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The 2005-06 season for the Michigan State women's golf team was filled with its fair share of memorable moments. The Spartans were victorious in their first event of the season, which happened to be their home tournament, the Mary Fossum Invitational. The Green and White did so in record- setting fashion, recording the lowest three-round team total in tournament history.

At the Northwestern Invitational, the Spartans once again made an addition to the school record book. In superb scoring conditions, the Spartans recorded the two lowest team-totals in program history with matching scores of 2-under-par (286) in the opening two rounds. A closing round of 292 gave State the lowest 54-hole team total in school history at even-par (864).

MSU advanced to the NCAA regionals for the eighth straight time in 2005-06 and finished the season ranked No. 24 in the nation according to the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.

Despite losing Dayna Burleigh to graduation, Michigan State returns seven golfers with tournament experience for the 2006-07 season. The roster includes seniors Heather Rose, Mandi McConnell, and Rachel Meikle, juniors Kristen Polanski, Sara Brown, and Jordyn Wells, sophomore Holly Niederkohr, redshirt freshmen Carly Hunt, Ashley Dewling, and Jen Domagalski, as well as freshmen Stephanie Koske, Natalie Brehm, Sarah Nirenberg, and Laura Kueny.

"Goals for the season will definitely be to finish in the top-10 in the country this year," said 10th year head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll. "I think we will have a power-packed, deep team, which is going to be very exciting for us. We have a large number of returning players, as well as many new players that are going to want to break the lineup.

"It is going to be extremely competitive this year," Slobodnik-Stoll added. "I think there are nine players that are going to have a chance to qualify for those top five spots and the majority of the tournaments we are playing in this season are only five-count-four. It should be very competitive, which is only going to make us stronger as a team and as a program."

Coming off one of the best individual seasons in program history and summer filled with impressive performances is junior Sara Brown. Brown's stroke-average of 74.18 in the 2005-06 season was the lowest in school history and her career stroke-average of 75.80 is second to only Emily Bastel in the Spartan record books. On the season, Brown had three top-five finishes including a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships in Bloomington, Ind. Her stellar play earned her a spot on the All-Big Ten First-Team at season's end.

Even after the school year ended Brown continued to play extraordinary golf. The Tucson, Ariz., native advanced to the semifinals of the US Women's Amateur Pubinks, finished as low amateur and fifth overall at the Michigan PGA Women's Open, was third at the Illinois Women's Open and was named to the World University Games team for this coming fall.

"Sara is on her way to being one of the greatest players Michigan State has ever had," Slobodnik-Stoll commented. "It is especially exciting because she is only a junior. Sara had a great summer this year, at the US Public Links and was the low amateur at the Michigan Open once again. She continues to improve daily, which is really nice to see. She is a wonderful team player, a great leader and an amazing person to have as a Spartan."

Bringing experience and leadership to the Spartan lineup is a trio of seniors; Rachel Meikle, Mandi McConnell, and Heather Rose. Meikle and Rose played in every event for the Spartans this past season, while McConnell recorded two top-10 finishes in the first half of the season before an injury limited her play in the second half of the year. All three rank in the top 10 for career stroke-average in school history.

Heather Rose.

Rachel Meikle has shown an incredible ability to shoot low scores in her time at Michigan State, so it was no surprise when she set a school record for a 54-hole tournament this past season. Meikle shot a three-round total of 6-under-par 210 (70-70-70) to beat Emily Bastel's record of 214. The Fort Wayne, Ind., native enters her final season with the Spartans ranked eighth in career stroke average at 77.50.

Mandi McConnell lived up to her billing as the Spartans' most consistent player early in the 2005-06 season. After recording the low average on the team as a sophomore, McConnell started her junior campaign with back-to-back top-10 finishes at the Mary Fossum Invitational and the Lady Northern Invitational. While injury kept her from competing for the majority of the spring, McConnell still enters her senior campaign ranked sixth in MSU career stroke-average at 77.38.

After a breakout campaign as a sophomore, Heather Rose continued to be a fixture in the Spartan lineup as a junior. Rose got off to a hot start as well last season, finishing in a tie for third at the Fossum Invitational. She also created some fireworks in the post-season, firing a career-low round of 3-under-par 69 at the Big Ten Championship. Another Spartan entering her fourth year with the program is Kristen Polanski, who redshirted as a freshman. Off-season surgery prevented Polanski from playing the caliber of golf this past season as she did earlier in her career. As a redshirt freshman, she recorded a top-10 finish at the Fossum Invitational and had three top-20 finishes.

"Having four fourth-year players who all have valuable experience is going to be great," said Slobodnik-Stoll. "I expect the older players to be great leaders to the younger players and help them develop so we are ready for the years to come, so they in turn are ready to step into these senior roles. All of the seniors bring something different individually to the table, but yet add so much to the team. They are very important and their leadership will be extremely valuable to us this year and they will help pass on the Spartan tradition and what that means to the younger players."

Two other Spartans who will compete for tournament time for the second straight season are junior Jordyn Wells and sophomore Holly Niederkohr.

Wells competed in five events this past season and notched her first career top-10 finish at the Northwestern Invitational with a tie for 10th place and a three-round total of 1-over-par 217 (74-72-71). This summer Wells had a superb performance at the Women's Trans National Amateur Championship, finishing runner-up. "Jordyn is playing golf at a different level now, being runner-up in the Trans, which is a major tournament and is a major accomplishment for her," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "She has worked very hard over the summer to improve her mechanics, as well as becoming tougher mentally."

Establishing herself as a consistent player in the Spartan lineup during the spring last season was Holly Niederkohr. After competing in only one event in the fall, Niederkohr competed in seven events in the second half of the season. The only freshman to compete for the Green and White in 2005-06, she averaged 77.79 in her rookie season.

"Holly had a great spring season as a freshman," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "She understood what she needed to improve on this summer to make sure she is a valuable asset to the team in the fall."

Three golfers have freshman eligibility entering the 2006-07 season, but are not new to the Spartan squad. Carly Hunt, Jen Domagalski and Ashley Dewling will be redshirt freshman this season, and are looking crack the lineup for the Green and White.

"Carly actually qualified for a couple of tournaments last year but decided to redshirt and not use her eligibility," Slobodnik-Stoll explained. "She is obviously going to be in the mix and she is a very competitive person. I foresee her being in the fight for one of those top spots."

"Jen and Ashley both have played in a lot of tournaments this summer and are gaining valuable experience," said Slobodnik-Stoll. "They are important members of the team in so many ways, they are leaders and valuable assets to the program."

Laura Kueny.

Slobodnik-Stoll has made four additions to the Michigan State roster for this upcoming season; freshmen Natalie Brehm, Laura Kueny, Stephanie Koske, and Sarah Nirenberg. All four will be looking to crack the lineup in the 2006-07 season.

"Laura was named Miss Golf for the second year in a row and won the state championship for the second year in a row," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "She has played in a lot of bigger tournaments this summer which will help her. She gained valuable tournament and competitive experience. We expect Laura to be one of the top players in the program and fight for one of those spots.

"With her and the other three freshmen, it is all going to depend on how they handle the transition from high school to college and how they come through the qualifying to see what will happen," Slobodnik-Stoll added. "We are excited to have them all as part of the program."

In addition to having a tradition of on-course excellence, the Michigan State women's golf team has a tradition of excellence in the classroom. This past season. the squad had the highest team GPA at Michigan State (3.45), had six players receive mention on the Academic All-Conference team, and had two NGCA Academic All-Americans.

An exciting part of the upcoming season for Michigan State is the fact that it will host three tournaments. The Spartans open the season hosting the Lady Northern Invitational at the Forest Akers West Golf Course (Sept. 16-17), host their annual winter tournament, the Central District Invitational (Feb. 19-20), in Parrish, Fla., and welcome their conference foes to Forest Akers West Golf Course for the Big Ten Championships (April 28-30).

"It is going to be great to showcase our golf course and everything Michigan State has to offer," Slobodnik-Stoll commented. "The last time we hosted the Big Ten Championships was Mary Fossum's last year and it was such a huge celebration honoring all of her accomplishments. At that time I didn't know I was to succeed her as head coach, but I have really great memories of the last time we hosted. With Mary and Bruce Fossum involved again, and the opportunity to display Forest Akers and all the improvements that have been evolved here over the last 20 years, especially the Rearick Golf Complex, it is going to be an exciting time."