Spartans Card Best Team Score in Second Round at NCAA East Lansing Regional, Move Up to Fourth Place

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State women’s golf team shot the best round of the second day at the NCAA East Lansing Regional at Forest Akers West on Tuesday with a 4-under-par 284 to move into fourth place in the 12-team field.

The top-five teams in the three-day, 54-hole event will advance to the NCAA Championships.

MSU’s round of 284 was the best team score on Tuesday by four strokes and tied for the second-best single round by the Spartans in an NCAA Regional. Overall, MSU is 1-under-par at 575 (291-284) for the tournament.

The fifth-seeded Spartans made a strong charge to close out the back nine, collecting six birdies and an eagle among the four counting scores in the final six holes (No. 13-18).

“That was a lot better,” said MSU head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll after the completion of the second round, as the Spartans went from a tie for sixth place to fourth on the team leaderboard. “I felt a little bit better walking off the 18th green (today). I can always sense that we can play better. When we do things that I feel like are mistakes, you want to try and eliminate as many mistakes as possible, so today was much better.”

Top-seeded USC continues to lead the regional with a 6-under-par 570 (281-289), followed by second-seeded Northwestern (284-288—572) and fourth-seeded Pepperdine (283-290—573). Florida, the No. 3 seed, is in fifth place (287-289—576), three shots ahead of sixth-place Denver.

The second round began at 8 a.m. under partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-50s before rising to the high-60s midway through the round. The last three groups of the day played in rainy conditions to close the round.

A day after setting a Forest Akers West Course record with a 7-under 65, USC’s Bailey Shoemaker shot a 71 to remain in first place on the individual leaderboard at 8-under 136 (65-71) through 36 holes. Notre Dame’s Lauren Beaudreau is right behind at 7-under 137 (68-69).

Senior Leila Raines led the Spartans with her best round of the season, carding a 4-under 68, which also tied for the second best by a Spartan in an NCAA Regional. She jumped up 25 places into a tie for fifth place, fueled by a team-high five birdies in addition to an eagle on the par-5 13th hole.

“It went really well for me today,” said Raines, who is 3-under 144 (73-68) through two rounds. “I hit some really good…