Spartans in Ninth Place After Two Rounds at NCAA East Lansing Regional

EAST LANSING – The Michigan State women's golf team is in ninth place after two rounds of play at the NCAA East Lansing Regional at Forest Akers West. The Spartans shot a 15-over-par 303 on Tuesday and are at 20-over 596 (293-303) through 36 holes.

Golfstat

MSU is four shots behind Illinois and Indiana heading into Wednesday's third and final round. The top-six teams and top-three individuals not from the qualifying teams will advance to the NCAA Championships on May 17-22 at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas, hosted by the University of Arkansas.

The second round featured a lengthy weather delay, as teams were originally slated to begin at 8 a.m., but heavy rain pushed the starting time back to a shotgun start at 2:45 p.m. The weather improved significantly in the afternoon with sunny skies and temperatures in the 50s. The round concluded around 8:30 p.m.

"We started out good and then had a really, really rough front nine," MSU head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll said. "The good news is, we're still going to be in it for tomorrow, but pretty disappointing."

Freshman Haylin Harris continues to lead the Spartans and is in second place overall on the leaderboard with a 3-under-par 141. After carding a career-best 69 on Monday, she shot even-par 72 on Tuesday, again pacing the team. She also had a team-high four birdies on the day.

"I feel a little frustrated right now just because of my finish, but overall I feel fantastic," Harris said. "We struggled a bit today but I think we're going to bounce back tomorrow."

"When you feel confident in your game that's when you're playing well and that's what happens," Slobdonik-Stoll said of Harris. "It doesn't matter for her what's going on out here right now because she feels good about what she's doing."

Third-seeded Kent State remained in first place at 3-under-par 573 (282-291) heading into the third and final round on Wednesday, but second-seeded Arizona gained seven shots on the Golden Flashes with a 4-under-par 284 in the second round, which marked the best round of the day. The Wildcats are now 2-under-par at 574 (290-284) through 36 holes.

UCLA (296-285—581), Stanford (298-290—588), Illinois (292-300—592) and Indiana (293-299—592) round out the top-six teams in the 18-team regional.

UCLA's Patty Tavatanakit tied a single-round course record with a 6-under 66, vaulting her atop the leaderboard by four shots at 7-under 137 (71-66). Harris is in second at 3-under 141 (69-72), while Illinois' Kornkamol Sukaree (71-71), Kent State's Pimnipa Panthong (68-74) and Baylor's Gurleen Kaur (73-69) are all tied for third at 2-under-par 142.

Allyson Geer-Park moved up four spots into a tie for 17th place after she shot a 1-over-par 73 for the second straight day. Geer-Park recorded an eagle on Tuesday on the par-5 13th hole.

Yurika Tanida is tied for 63rd at 10-over-par 154 (79-79) and Paz Marfa Sans is one shot back at 11-over-par 155 (76-79). Sydney Naro is 16-over-par 160 (80-80).

This year's NCAA Regional at Forest Akers West is the third at the course and first since 2002.

Wednesday's third and final round is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. with teams teeing off from the first and 10th holes. Live scoring will be available on golfstat.com. The Spartans will tee off from hole No. 1 between 8:03 – 8:47 a.m.

Spartans in Ninth Place After Two Rounds at NCAA East Lansing Regional

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Players Mentioned

Allyson Geer-Park

Haylin Harris

Paz Marfa Sans

Sydney Naro

Yurika Tanida