Friday, April 19
Maineville, Ohio (TPC River's Bend)
All Day
Michigan State University
vs
Big Ten Championships
No. 19 Spartans Looking for Third Straight Big Ten Crown
4/18/2019 12:32:00 PM | Women's Golf
EAST LANSING – The Michigan State women's golf team will be in search of its third consecutive league title this weekend at the 2019 Big Ten Championships. The three-day, 54-hole tournament will take place Friday – Sunday at TPC River's Bend in Maineville, Ohio, for the third consecutive year. Friday's and Saturday's rounds will begin at 8:30 a.m., while Sunday's final round is set to begin at 8 a.m.
"We're excited for another opportunity to win," MSU head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll said. "We know the course well, we'll do a great job with the freshmen of getting them prepped for how they can be successful on the golf course."
The Spartans enter the tournament with the second-highest Golfstat ranking of any team in the conference at 19, which is three spots behind Northwestern.
Michigan State has a win and a runner-up finish in two of its last three tournaments, having won the Briar's Creek Invitational (March 18-19) and then taking second last weekend at the Lady Buckeye Invitational.
While the Spartans have been led all season by junior Allyson Geer-Park, it's the team's depth that has been its biggest factor in success. MSU has had a different player as its top finisher in each of its last three tournaments.
Key to the Spartans' depth has been the play of its trio of freshmen in Haylin Harris, Valery Plata and Sydney Naro. Naro, who joined the team when she enrolled in school in January, tied for fourth last weekend at the Lady Buckeye with the help of a 5-under-par 67 in the opening round, which tied the lowest score by a Spartan this season.
Harris has had her two best finishes of the season over the last two tournaments, while Plata ranks fourth on the team in scoring average at 75.42.
Geer, who has a pair of tournament wins (Mary Fossum Invitational; Briar's Creek Invitational), and fellow junior Paz Marfa Sans, give the Spartans a significant championship experience as both have played at least 80 rounds over their careers.
Yurika Tanida, a sophomore, has three top 10 finishes this season, including tying for sixth place last weekend at the Lady Buckeye.
"I think we have a really deep team this year, which is awesome, and we feel like we have the firepower to do it again," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "But as everyone knows in sports, you just don't know what's going to happen if one person or a team gets hot. We certainly feel like we have a great chance and we're going to put ourselves in the best position to be successful."
The Field (by order of Golfstat ranking)
No. 16 Northwestern
No. 19 Michigan State
No. 30 Illinois
No. 33 Purdue
No. 49 Penn State
No. 50 Maryland
No. 56 Indiana
No. 57 Ohio State
No. 69 Michigan
No. 83 Rutgers
No. 88 Nebraska
No. 90 Wisconsin
No. 108 Minnesota
No. 126 Iowa
Spartans at the Big Ten Championships
Michigan State has won five of the last eight Big Ten Championships and 13 in total, which is second most in conference history. Under Slobodnik-Stoll, MSU has seven titles (2001, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2019). MSU won five consecutive Big Ten titles from 1974-78, and also claimed a conference crown in 1982 in addition to the five won by Slobodnik-Stoll. In the Big Ten record books, MSU is credited with eight Big Ten Championships, as the conference did not officially sanction women's sports until 1982.
Michigan State has finished in the top four at the Big Ten Championships in 13 of the last 14 years and in 18 of Slobodnik-Stoll's 21 seasons.
Sarah Burnham took second at last year's Big Ten Championships for the second straight year, while Geer took fourth for the second season in a row.
"We're excited for another opportunity to win," MSU head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll said. "We know the course well, we'll do a great job with the freshmen of getting them prepped for how they can be successful on the golf course."
The Spartans enter the tournament with the second-highest Golfstat ranking of any team in the conference at 19, which is three spots behind Northwestern.
Michigan State has a win and a runner-up finish in two of its last three tournaments, having won the Briar's Creek Invitational (March 18-19) and then taking second last weekend at the Lady Buckeye Invitational.
While the Spartans have been led all season by junior Allyson Geer-Park, it's the team's depth that has been its biggest factor in success. MSU has had a different player as its top finisher in each of its last three tournaments.
Key to the Spartans' depth has been the play of its trio of freshmen in Haylin Harris, Valery Plata and Sydney Naro. Naro, who joined the team when she enrolled in school in January, tied for fourth last weekend at the Lady Buckeye with the help of a 5-under-par 67 in the opening round, which tied the lowest score by a Spartan this season.
Harris has had her two best finishes of the season over the last two tournaments, while Plata ranks fourth on the team in scoring average at 75.42.
Geer, who has a pair of tournament wins (Mary Fossum Invitational; Briar's Creek Invitational), and fellow junior Paz Marfa Sans, give the Spartans a significant championship experience as both have played at least 80 rounds over their careers.
Yurika Tanida, a sophomore, has three top 10 finishes this season, including tying for sixth place last weekend at the Lady Buckeye.
"I think we have a really deep team this year, which is awesome, and we feel like we have the firepower to do it again," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "But as everyone knows in sports, you just don't know what's going to happen if one person or a team gets hot. We certainly feel like we have a great chance and we're going to put ourselves in the best position to be successful."
The Field (by order of Golfstat ranking)
No. 16 Northwestern
No. 19 Michigan State
No. 30 Illinois
No. 33 Purdue
No. 49 Penn State
No. 50 Maryland
No. 56 Indiana
No. 57 Ohio State
No. 69 Michigan
No. 83 Rutgers
No. 88 Nebraska
No. 90 Wisconsin
No. 108 Minnesota
No. 126 Iowa
Spartans at the Big Ten Championships
Michigan State has won five of the last eight Big Ten Championships and 13 in total, which is second most in conference history. Under Slobodnik-Stoll, MSU has seven titles (2001, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2019). MSU won five consecutive Big Ten titles from 1974-78, and also claimed a conference crown in 1982 in addition to the five won by Slobodnik-Stoll. In the Big Ten record books, MSU is credited with eight Big Ten Championships, as the conference did not officially sanction women's sports until 1982.
Michigan State has finished in the top four at the Big Ten Championships in 13 of the last 14 years and in 18 of Slobodnik-Stoll's 21 seasons.
Sarah Burnham took second at last year's Big Ten Championships for the second straight year, while Geer took fourth for the second season in a row.
Players Mentioned
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