Women's Golf Heads To Mercedes-Benz Championship
10/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Oct. 6, 2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's golf team will head south for the weekend (Oct. 8-10) as they participate at the eighth annual Mercedes-Benz Championship held in Knoxville, Tenn. Played at the University of Tennessee's Fox Den Country Club, the tournament spans three days, with each day featuring one 18 hole round of play. The Championship showcases 16 of the nation's premiere golf programs, along with the Swedish Junior National squad in head-to-head action.
The event kicks off with first round action on Friday morning (Oct. 8), with teams teeing off between 8:30-10:30 a.m. Michigan State is currently scheduled as the first team to tee off in the 9:10 a.m. round. The day's festivities will conclude with the Legend's Banquet, a dinner and program that will honor two individuals who have made an exceptional impact on women's golf in the U.S.
Second-round action begins on Saturday (Oct. 9) with tee times ranging from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. The third and final round of play will take place on Sunday, Oct. 10, with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Closing ceremonies and award presentations are scheduled to follow the conclusion of day three's action.
Teams scheduled to compete in the Mercedes-Benz Championship include: Alabama, Arkansas, James Madison, Kent State, Kentucky, LSU, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Tennessee, Tulane, Tulsa, UNC Wilmington, Virginia and the Swedish Junior National Team.
Looking to improve on their eighth-place finish at the Mercedes-Benz in 2003, the Spartans head to Knoxville with confidence, most recently coming off a second-place finish at the Mary Fossum Invitational.
Redshirt freshman Kristen Polanski (Livonia, Mich.) enters this weekend's competition fresh off tying for sixth place at the Fossum, her first career top-10 finish. Polanski is joined by sophomore Mandi McConnell (Grand Blanc, Mich.), whose best outing of the season came at the Lady Northern Invitational (Sept. 11-12), where she tied for 10th.
Junior Dayna Burleigh (Horsham, Pa.) tied for ninth at last year's Mercedes-Benz, the best individual finish on the team. Sophomores Heather Rose (Chillicothe, Ohio) and Rachel Meikle (Fort Wayne, Ind.), along with freshman Sara Brown (Tucson, Ariz.) round out the roster for the Spartans. Meikle will play as Michigan State's lone individual, while Brown makes her first trip out of state for the Spartans. Both of Michigan State's two previous events have both been held in-state, with the Lady Northern hosted by Michigan in Ann Arbor and the Mary Fossum hosted at MSU's home course, Forest Akers West in East Lansing.
Players Mentioned
