Sports Update

MSU Women Ready For NCAA Championships

Posted: 10:12 PM May 21, 2012
Reporter: Michigan State University

MSU IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

• The two-time defending Big Ten Champion Michigan State women’s golf team is making its 10th appearance in school history at the NCAA Championships this week (May 22-25) at the Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn.

• The Spartans also qualified for the NCAA Championships in 1982, 1984, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009.

• It marks the eighth time MSU has made nationals under 15th-year head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll.

• MSU’s highest finish at the NCAA Championships arrived in 2001, when the Spartans tied for 12th.

LET’S GET IT STARTED

• Michigan State will tee off at 8:39 a.m. on Tuesday at hole No. 10 for the first round of the NCAA Championships, along with Arkansas and Oklahoma.

• For Wednesday’s second round, MSU will tee off from hole No. 1 at 12:56 p.m. with the same two teams.

QUALIFYING IN RECORD-SETTING FASHION

• MSU advanced to the NCAA Championships after a record-setting third round at the NCAA East Regional on May 12 in State College, Pa.

• Needing a top-eight finish at the 24-team regional to reach nationals, the Spartans vaulted from 12th place to a tie for sixth in the third and final round after carding a 5-under-par 283, tying for the second-best round in program history.

• MSU finished the 54-hole tournament with a 23-over 887 (300-304-283).

• The Spartans got off to an incredible start with 15 birdies after nine holes and were 13-under at the turn.

• Leading the charge was senior Lindsey Solberg, who carded a school single-round record with a 5-under 67 in the third round. Solberg collected seven birdies, 10 pars and one double-bogey and finished tied for third overall on the individual leaderboard with an even-par 216 (74-75-67), which equaled her career low.

BACK-TO-BACK BIG TEN CHAMPIONS

• MSU won its second straight Big Ten Championship and 10th in program history with a 10-stroke victory over Purdue at the Donald Ross Course at French Lick Resort on April 29.

• The Spartans entered the third round with a five-stroke lead over No. 19 Ohio State and extended their lead throughout the final day. Overall, MSU shot a 21-over 885 (298-292-295) in claiming back-to-back Big Ten titles for the first time since winning five in a row from 1974-78.

• Lindsey Solberg and Caroline Powers each tied for third and were named to the All-Championships Team for the second year in a row.

MODEL OF CONSISTENCY

• The Michigan State women’s golf program has appeared in 14 straight NCAA Regionals.

• Michigan State’s streak of 14 straight NCAA appearances is the third-longest in the Big Ten, behind Ohio State (18) and Purdue (15).

• The Spartans have won 10 Big Ten titles in program history. MSU won five consecutive Big Ten titles from 1974-78, and also won conference crowns in 1982, 2001, 2007, 2011 and 2012.

• In the Big Ten record books, MSU is credited with five Big Ten Championships, as the conference did not officially sanction women’s sports until 1982.

• Since the inception of the conference championships in 1974, only Ohio State (14) has won more league titles than the Spartans (10).

HEAD COACH STACY SLOBODNIK-STOLL

• Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, who is in her 15th year as head coach at MSU, has led the Spartans to four Big Ten titles (2001, 2007, 2011, 2012), eight trips to the NCAA Championships and 14 straight appearances in the NCAA Regionals.

• Slobodnik-Stoll was named the 2012 Big Ten Coach of the Year, marking the third time in her career she was won the award (2001, 2007).

• The Spartans have won 30 tournament titles during Slobodnik-Stoll’s tenure, including two this season (Big Ten Championships, Mary Fossum Invitational).

POWERS ONE OF THE NATION’S BEST

• Junior Caroline Powers, who was named first-team All-Big Ten for the second straight year, leads the team with a 73.70 scoring average and is ranked 30th in the nation by Golfweek.

• The Bowling Green, Ohio, native has placed in the top 10 in six of MSU’s 11 tournaments this season, including a victory at the Mary Fossum Invitational in September.

• Powers tied for third at the Big Ten Championships with a 2-over 218 and was named to the All-Championships Team for the second straight year. She currently owns the best career scoring average in Michigan State history with a 74.39 (Laura Kueny second at 74.60).

• Powers’ scoring average of 73.53 in 2010-11 was a MSU single-season record.

• Powers competed as an individual at last season’s NCAA Championships at Texas A&M and tied for sixth with a 288, which was the best-ever finish by a Spartan at nationals.

SOLBERG SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST

• Senior Lindsey Solberg, a second-team All-Big Ten selection for the third time in her career, tied for third at the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA East Regional.

• For her career-best showing at the Big Ten Championships, she garnered all-tournament team honors for the second consecutive season.

• The Verona, Wis., native is second on the team with a career-best 75.39 scoring average.

• Solberg set an MSU single-round record with a 67 in the third round of the NCAA Regional.

• Solberg’s career average of 76.20 is currently the sixth best in program history.

• In addition to Powers, Solberg is the only other Spartan with NCAA Championships experience. As a freshman in 2009, she recorded the team’s top score at the NCAA Championships in Owings Mills, Md., with a 304 (73-79-76-76), tying for 39th.

NAGEL COMING ON STRONG DURING SPRING SEASON

• Red-shirt sophomore Liz Nagel has been one of the team’s most consistent golfers down the stretch, placing in the top 20 in three of her last five tournaments, and was rewarded as a second-team All-Big Ten pick.

• Playing in her first career Big Ten Championships, Nagel tied for 18th with a 228.

• The DeWitt, Mich., native is third on the Spartans with a 75.67 average in seven tournaments.

• Nagel shot a career-low 69 in the third round of the NCAA Regional

• She placed a career-best fourth at the Lady Buckeye Invitational on April 22.

Tournament Information

When: Tuesday, May 22 - Friday, May 25

Where: Franklin, Tenn.

Course Information

Course: Vanderbilt Legends Club North Course

Par/Yardage: 72 / 6,377

Media Coverage

Live Stats: Live scoring available at golfstat.com

Twitter: Updates at twitter.com/msuwomensgolf

Teams (24)

No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Arizona State, No. 31 Arkansas, No. 17 Baylor, No. 10 Colorado, No. 8 Duke, No. 12 Florida, No. 5 LSU, No. 21 Michigan State, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 24 North Carolina State, No. 20 Ohio State, No. 28 Oklahoma, No. 23 Pepperdine, No. 29 Purdue, No. 19 South Carolina, No. 34 Stanford, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 26 Texas, No. 16 Texas A&M, No. 1 UCLA, No. 3 USC, No. 9 Vanderbilt, No. 25 Virginia (Rankings according to Golfweek)