NCAA Championships Start on Friday Morning for Spartans

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State women's golf team will be competing in the NCAA Championships for the 15th time in program history. Play begins Friday morning (May 19) for all 30 teams at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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The Spartans will tee off on the 10th hole at 7:05 a.m. PT (10:05 a.m. ET) on the par 72, 6,399-yard course at Grayhawk, playing alongside Georgia and Texas Tech.

After winning the NCAA Palm Beach Regional last week, the Spartans will be making their second NCAA Championships appearance in the last three years and the 13th under head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll.

The Lineup
1. Brooke Biermann
2. Shannon Kennedy
3. Katie Lu
4. Leila Raines
5. Valentina Rossi
6. Paula Balanzategui

The Format
For the eighth straight year, the championship will feature a different look as there will be 54 holes of stroke play qualifying and then the top 15 teams and nine individuals (not on advancing teams) will play a final 18 holes to determine the individual champion and the top eight teams will advance to match play. On May 23 there will be 36 holes of match play and then the match play championship will take place May 24.

Starting Notes...

The Spartans are making their 15th NCAA Championships appearance and second in the last three years.
MSU won the NCAA Palm Beach Regional, the first regional win in program history, and sophomore Brooke Biermann was co-medalist, the highest finish for an MSU player ever in an NCAA Regional.
Michigan State is ranked No. 33 in the country in the latest Golfstat rankings and No. 35 by Golfweek.
Michigan State has posted five top-five finishes this year, including a runner-up showing at the Lady Buckeye Invitational, the final regular season event of the season, and the win last week at the NCAA Palm Beach Regional.
Junior Valentina Rossi, who is second on the team in scoring average (72.54), was named All-Big Second Team, her first all-conference honor.
Sophomore Brooke Biermann, who is third on the team with a 72.97 scoring average, has been MSU's top individual finisher six times season, including the last four events, earning co-medalist honors at the NCAA Palm Beach Regional, her best career finish.

Championship Experience

Two players on the Spartans' current roster have previously played in the NCAA Championships – both having done so as freshmen.
Juniors Leila Raines and Valentina Rossi were part of the 2021 team that won the Big Ten Championship, tied for fourth at the Louisville Regional and advanced to the NCAA Championships.
Raines played in the first round and Rossi played the final two rounds.
Raines posted a 12-over par 84 in the first round, while Rossi shot a 1-over par 73 in the second round and a 4-over par 76 in the third round.
Last year, Raines tied for 10th place individually at the NCAA Stillwater Regional and advanced to play in the NCAA Championships.
She tied for 93rd place with a 15-over par 231 (81-76-74).

Regional Recap

Michigan State led through the first two rounds and saw its advantage disappear early in the third round, before a strong finish on the back nine to win the NCAA Palm Beach Regional, played on the par-72, 6,312-yard course at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. on May 10.
The Spartans shot a final round 3-over par 291 and finished the three-day, 54-hole tournament at 8-over par 872 (285-296-291), topping the 12-team field.
It was the first NCAA Regional win in program history for the Spartans and Head Coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, who has guided the program to 12 NCAA Championships in 23 regional appearances.
The Spartans were led by sophomore Brooke Biermann, who shared medalist honors with LSU's Latanna Stone at 3-under par 213. Her tie for first place is the best finish ever for an MSU women's golfer at the NCAA Regionals.

For the Record Book

Sophomore Brooke Biermann has etched her name into the Michigan State record book this season.
The sophomore is the only player in the Spartans lineup to appear in every event this season, leading the team in events played (11) and rounds played (33).
Biermann is third on the team in scoring average at 72.79, which ranks eighth all-time in a single-season in the Michigan State record book.
Biermann has stepped up her play during the spring season, carrying in a 72.28 scoring average and was the team's top finisher in the final three events of the regular season and the last four overall.
She opened the season-ending Lady Buckeye Invitational with a 5-under par 67 – the 13th-lowest 18-hole score in program history – on the way to a tie for sixth place individually at 2-under par 214.

Players Mentioned

Paula Balanzategui

Brooke Biermann

Shannon Kennedy

Katie Lu

Leila Raines

Valentina Rossi

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