Gant Leads Women's Golf To Fifth-Place Finish

Oct. 12, 1999

EAST LANSING, Mich. - For seven weeks, with superstar junior Kasey Gant (Fort Wayne, Ind.) sidelined with a right shoulder injury, head coach Stacy Slobodnik had to wait to find out the potential of the 1999-2000 women?s golf team.

Monday, in Gant?s second round back from injury, the Spartans demonstrated that potential, firing a school-record 290 in the Big Ten/Big 12 Shootout in Muncie, Ind. After Tuesday?s final round of 296 at the final tournament of the fall season, Michigan State finished fifth in the 12-team field at The Legends Golf Course in Franklin, Ind., with a 318-290-295=904. Oklahoma State (293-288-292=873) won the tournament, beating out a field which included three top-20 teams (Oklahoma State, Purdue, Indiana).

?I think we played the best we could in the last two rounds of the fall,? Slobodnik said, ?and we realize how good we can be. There?s no question we can be successful if we eliminate the big numbers like the 318 in the first round. In the spring we will start all over and shoot for the Big Ten championship and NCAA Regionals.?

Gant led the way in round two with a 69, tying her second-best career round. Still the only player in MSU history to shoot a round under 70, Gant has now done it three times. She finished the tournament at 78-69-75=215 in her first appearance of the year. A U.S. Women?s Amateur quarterfinalist this summer, Gant is a two-time All-Big Ten selection.

?The anticipation of Kasey?s return was so great,? Slobodnik said. ?I didn?t know what to expect, and neither did she after not playing for seven weeks. She showed the amount of talent she has. Only a tremendous athlete can come back after almost two months off and perform at the level she did.?

Michigan State takes three months off before returning to the course for the spring season Feb. 7-9 at the OSU/SMU Regional Challenge in Los Angeles, Calif.

BIG TEN/BIG 12 SHOOTOUT ? THE LEGENDS COURSE ? FRANKLIN, IND. ? PAR 72 ? 5,975 YARDS

TEAM STANDINGS				MSU INDIVIDUALS
1. Oklahoma State	293-288-292=873		Kasey Gant		78-69-75=215
2. Northwestern	303-300-289=892		Emily Bastel	80-73-70=223
    Purdue		306-298-288=604		Stacy Snider	79-72-74=225
4. Indiana		304-300-295=899		Jessica Till	81-76-77=234
5. MICHIGAN STATE	318-290-296=904		Shellie Morton	82-77-77=236
6. Iowa		318-303-298=919
    Missouri	312-309-298=919
8. Wisconsin	311-310-302=921
9. Campbell	316-300-312=928
10. Michigan 	317-305-307=929
11. Minnesota	321-305-314=940
12. Kansas		318-310-314=942

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