Women's Golfers Continue Summer Success
7/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
July 14, 2007
East Lansing, Mich. - Michigan State golfers continue their summer of success, building off their 2007 Big Ten title to place highly in tournaments around the country. From the coaching staff on down, the expectation of quality outings has translated into more accolades for the program.
Rising sophomore Laura Kueny (Whitehall, Mich.) captured the 77th Trans National Golf Association Amateur Championship on Saturday, July 14. She defeated WWGA Amateur champion Mallory Blackwelder, 3 and 2, in the finals of match play. This was the second straight summer that Kueny had advanced to match play at the Trans, one of the most prestigious summer tournaments in the country. It was also the second straight summer that a Spartan had been in the finals of this prestigious tournament, as Jordyn Wells was a finalist in 2006, falling to Susannah Aboff in the final match, 1 up.
"I am incredibly thrilled for Laura - she is just a phenomenal player and an awesome athlete," gushed head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll. "We expect good things from all of our players in summer tournaments - we want our players posting good numbers and good finishes. This is one of the top amateur tournaments in the country, and she beat some very good, highly-ranked players along the way. I could not be happier for her - she works so hard, and really loves the game."
Meanwhile, Slobodnik-Stoll was making an impressive run of her own, as she was a semifinalist at the Michigan Women's Amateur. She, recent graduate Mandi McConnell (Grand Blanc, Mich.), and redshirt freshmen Jen Domagalski (Okemos, Mich.) and Natalie Brehm (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.) all advanced to match play - McConnell was the medalist after stroke play, posting a 71-71--142 to post a three-stroke victory. Slobodnik-Stoll was seeded sixth with a 76-76--152, Domagalski tied for eighth in stroke play with a 77-81--158, and Brehm tied for 23rd with 82-80--162. Brehm and Domagalski both fell to Laura Bavaird (Brehm, 2 up in the first round, Domagalski 3 and 1 in the second). McConnell fell in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Shasta Averyhardt, 4 and 2. Slobodnik-Stoll advanced to the semis, falling to Bavaird, 1 up. Bavaird fell to Averyhardt, 1 up, in the finals.
Many of MSU's golfers will now prepare for the Michigan Open, which will be held Monday-Wednesday (July 16-18) at Crystal Mountain.
Players Mentioned
