Michigan State University
NCAA Central Regional
Spartans Eighth After First Day Of NCAA Central Regionals
5/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
May 10, 2007
ANN ARBOR - After one day at the NCAA Central Regional Championships, the No. 20 Michigan State women's golf team is in position to clinch a berth, thanks to a first-round 11-over-par 295 at the University of Michigan Golf Course on a beautiful Thursday afternoon. The top eight teams at the regional qualify for the NCAA Championships at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., from May 22-25.
Southern California leads the tournament after the first day, finishing 1-under-par, while Indiana and Texas Christian are sitting in second-place at 5-over-par. Vanderbilt is 6-over-par, Arkansas is 7-over-par, Georgia is 8-over-par and Tennessee is 10-over-par, one stroke ahead of Michigan State. Kent State and Arizona are two strokes behind the Spartans.
"295 is a good start and we are right where we want to be," said Michigan State head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, who is looking to lead the Spartans to their sixth NCAA Championships in her 10 seasons.
Senior Mandi McConnell (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) leads the Spartans after one round, as she finished the first round at even-par to tie for 11th. Starting on the 10th hole, McConnell birdied the par-4 No. 13 before bogeys on 14 and 17 forced her to make the turn at 1-over-par. However, she recovered with a 1-under-par on the front nine, as she stuck an approach shot within three feet on the par-4 No. 6 to let her tap in for birdie.
"The rough is very long and penalizing," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "If they don't cut it throughout the weekend, it will be imperative that we hit fairways. For Mandi, that won't bother her. She hits 95 percent of fairways so that plays right into her game. She is playing very steady."
Sophomore Holly Niederkohr (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) finished with a 2-over-par 73 to finish the first day in 21st place. She posted a birdie on the par-4 No. 13 to help her make the turn with an even-par 35. After two bogeys, Niederkohr posted a birdie on the par-5 No. 3, helping her finish the front nine 2-over-par.
Senior Rachel Meikle (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll) posted a 4-over-par 75 for a share of 33rd place. She posted a birdie on the par-4 No. 13, but made the turn at 2-over-par. She added a birdie on the par-4 No. 2, thanks to a 25-foot birdie putt. After playing the next three holes 3-over-par, Meikle drained a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 6 to help her finish the round 4-over-par.
Senior Heather Rose (Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe) carded a 5-over-par 76 for a share of 45th place. Rose posted a birdie on the par-5 No. 11. She also recorded birdies on the par-5 No. 1 and the par-3 No. 8 and added 10 pars during the round.
Junior Sara Brown (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic) mixed two birdies (the par-5 No. 1 and the par-4 No. 16) with eight pars to help her finish 7-over-par and in a tie for 74th place.
The Spartans will look to stay inside the top eight on Friday when play from the University of Michigan Golf Course resumes with the second round. The round begins at 8:10 a.m.
Players Mentioned
