Spartans Set To Host Central District Invitational At River Wilderness

Feb. 17, 2007

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's golf team is set to host its seventh annual Central District Invitational at the River Wilderness Country Club at Parrish, Fla. The event features some of the best teams from the NCAA Central Regional, including six teams in the nation's Top 30. The event is a two-day, 54-hole tournament, with teams playing 36 holes Monday before wrapping up the tournament with 18 holes Tuesday.

For live scoring and complete results from the event, please visit Golfstat.com..

Coming Up Rose
Senior Heather Rose earned the Big Ten Women's Golfer of the Week award after finishing the Northrop Grumman in a tie for 20th with a 54-hole score of 226 after the senior posted a Michigan State-best round of 73 in her final round at the tournament. She posted six birdies during the three-day event, while double-bogeying just two holes. Golfweek/Sagarin's 97th-ranked golfer dropped her season average to 75.8 strokes per round.

And Your Favorite Is...
Michigan State enters the Central District Invitational as the top-ranked team in the field, after finishing the fall ranked 19th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, which the team still holds through Feb. 11, and 17th in the NGCA poll. Arkansas and Ohio State are both ranked among the nation's Top 25 in both rankings, and Texas A&M recently finished tied for sixth at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge.

A Little History...
In the seven years of the event, Michigan State has won once, in 2002, led by Stacy Snider's medalist finish of 216. The team finished eighth last year, as Baylor won with a 54-hole score of 896. Dayna Burleigh led the Spartans with a 16th-place finish.

Finishing Strong
Michigan State has formed quite the habit of finishing strong. Its third-round average of 299.60 as a team is more its five strokes better than its second round average and six strokes better than its first round average. The Spartans had their best day at the Northrup Grumman Regional Challenge on the last day, with senior Heather Rose and junior Sara Brown each turning in tournament-best rounds of 2-over-par 73.

Back In The Lineup
Sophomore Holly Niederkohr found herself back in the travel lineup for the first time this season, as the Marysville, Ohio., native finished in a tie for 59th at the Northrup Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif. She started with a first-round 83, but rebounded with rounds of 78 and 79 that featured two birdies in each round to finish out the tournament.

Niederkohr, who saw tournament action only at Michigan State's Lady Northern Invitational in the fall, competed in eight events as a freshman, finishing with a 77.79 average.

Hooters Match Play Upstarts
The 19th-ranked Spartans shocked many at the Hooters Match Play Championships with their fourth-place finish, as Michigan State managed 3-2 wins over 13th-ranked Arizona and sixth-ranked Auburn to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, Michigan State fell to third-ranked Duke, 3-2, with the deciding match coming down to 20 holes, with freshman Laura Kueny falling to Anna Grzebien. Junior Sara Brown beat three players ranked in the top 50, including Duke's fourth-ranked Jennie Lee, 6 and 5. The team then lost 1-3-1 to top-ranked Georgia, with senior Heather Rose halving second-ranked Taylor Leon.

In The Fall
The Michigan State women's golf team completed its five-tournament fall schedule ranked No. 19 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, recording four top-five finishes and a win at the Lady Northern Invitational. The Spartans posted seven wins against Top-25 opponents and a 15-3-1 record against Big Ten teams. In the Spartans' final fall outing, MSU defeated No. 13 Arizona, No. 6 Auburn and played hole-for-hole with No. 3 Duke and No. 1 Georgia at the Hooters Match Play Championship.

What A (Golf)Week
Junior Sara Brown was named Golfweek.com's Player of the Week after winning her first collegiate tournament at the Landfall Tradition on Oct. 29. The only player to score under par, Brown shot rounds of 74-69-72 for a 1-under 215 to win the competition by four strokes. Her score tied the third-best 54-hole score in school history and her second-round 69 was a career best. It was also the first time an MSU women's golfer had claimed medalist honors since Allison Fouch won back-to-back tournaments in 2003.

Red, White, And Blue (And Brown)
Junior Sara Brown helped the United States capture the team championship at the 11th World University Games. Finishing fifth overall with a five-over-par 293, Brown recorded the second-best score for the American squad. Brown is just the fifth Spartan ever to compete in the elite world event, and only the second to collect a team championship.

The four-day event, held in Tornio, Italy, Sept. 6-9, was a three-person format, using the top two of three scores. Recording rounds of 71, 77, 71 and 74, Brown's scores were used on all but the second day. The US won the team title with a score of 579, followed by Japan at 581 and Russia with a 590. A total of 14 countries participated in the games.

Fine With Nine
The Spartans are seeking their ninth straight appearance in the NCAA Regional Championships, with head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll leading the Green and White to the Central Regionals in all but one season as head coach. Stoll has led the team to six Top 10 finishes at the event, with Allison Fouch capturing two top-10 finishes at the event. Sara Brown finished 19th at the event to lead the team to a ninth-place finish in 2006.