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…