EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State women’s golf team shot a 3-under-par 285 in the third and final round of the NCAA East Lansing Regional on Wednesday at Forest Akers West to finish in third place and earn a trip to the NCAA Championships.
MSU finished the 54-hole tournament at 4-under 860 (291-284-285), the lowest team score the Spartans have ever posted in an NCAA Regional.
Top-seeded USC won the regional with a 9-under-par 855 (281-289-285), followed by Oklahoma State (859), MSU (860), Northwestern (861) and Pepperdine (863). The top-five teams in the 12-team field advance to the NCAA Championships.
Notre Dame’s Lauren Beaudreau, playing as an individual, claimed medalist honors by shooting a 12-under-par 204 (68-69-67).
The Spartans started the day in fourth place and moved up one spot to third with their 3-under 285, which tied for the second-lowest team score in the third round. Oklahoma State made the biggest jump from seventh to second after shooting a 9-under 279 on Wednesday, the lowest round of the tournament for any team.
The third and final round was played on a beautiful day on the MSU campus under sunny skies and temperatures reaching the low-70s.
“They played awesome – just like we said yesterday, we were going to play like Spartans today, and we certainly did,” said MSU head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, who has now led Michigan State to the NCAA Championships 14 times. “To do it at Michigan State (advance to nationals), to do it with so many fans (and media here), it means the world us, and obviously a great memory for us at Forest Akers.”
Senior Leila Raines led MSU with a 6-under 210 (73-68-69), which set a 54-hole record for a Spartan in an NCAA Regional and placed her fourth on the individual leaderboard. Raines carded five birdies to shoot a 69, a day after firing a season-best 68 in the second round.
“It feels amazing – this is what we worked all season for,” said Raines. “The anticipation of it, being at home, and then just being able to pull it off like we wanted to is really rewarding.
“Being able to end my senior year here and now, a ticket punched to nationals, you can’t ask for much more.”
“Leila being…
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