2007-08 Women's Golf Season Preview

Aug. 30, 2007

Head Coach Stacy

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Many coaches would break into a cold sweat at the thought of losing 60 percent of their starting lineup to graduation, especially in women's golf where there are not only five starters, but only four scores that count each round.

Entering her 11th year as head coach at Michigan State, Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll has already seen it before. In 2004-05, without a trio of seniors that led Michigan State to the NCAA Championships the year before, Slobodnik-Stoll plugged in then-sophomores Mandi McConnell and Rachel Meikle and freshman Sara Brown and watched the Spartans take 17th at the NCAA Championships.

So now that Slobodnik-Stoll must fill out her first lineup card in four seasons without Heather Rose, McConnell or Meikle she says the Spartans are not just ready to challenge for their seventh trip to the NCAA Championships in nine years, but poised to get there.

Of course, it does help that even though the Spartans lost three golfers in the school's top 10 in career scoring average, they return senior Sara Brown, who has the lowest scoring average in school history, junior Holly Niederkohr, who was a significant contribuitor in 2006-07, and sophomore Laura Kueny, who had a sensational start to her career in the fall, before being declared academically ineligible for the spring. Senior Jordyn Wells, two redshirt sophomores and two redshirt freshmen are also waiting for an opportunity along with one of the finest recruiting classes in school history. These players are why Slobodnik-Stoll is confident that the Spartans are ready to make another run at the NCAA Championships.

2007 Big Ten Champions

"Having Laura (Kueny) back is going to be big for us," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "Obviously, the loss of her in the spring was tremendous, but it was also a great lesson for the team. Being able to win the Big Ten Championship and finish 16th at Nationals was awesome. We proved that one player will never be bigger than the team, and the depth of our squad really shined in the spring.

"Losing Heather (Rose), Mandi (McConnell) and Rachel (Meikle) is major, but we know that we have built a program based on tradition and excellence. Each year we bring in players who are capable of immediately filling in the gaps left behind by the seniors. Even though it may look like there are holes, we expect people to step up and make an immediate impact."

Brown has put together two of the finest seasons in school history as a sophomore and a junior, dropping her career scoring average to a record 75.63. Her 74.18 scoring average as a sophomore is the lowest in school history and her 75.35 scoring average as a junior is fifth on the school's list. She earned First Team All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore after finishing second at the Big Ten Championships and as a junior after finishing sixth.

As a junior, she earned MSU's George Alderton Female Athlete of the Year Award, thanks to six top-10 finishes and three top-five finishes in 13 events. She also won her first collegiate tournament (the Landfall Tradition), and earned two weekly Player of the Week awards, one from Golfweek after winning the Landfall, and one from the Big Ten after finishing second at the Central District Invitational.

Sara Brown

"Sara is a wonderful person, on the golf course, off the golf course and in the classroom," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "She's a joy to have on the team because she is motivated and constantly wants to learn and get better. She is a leader and a perfect ambassador for our University. What I appreciate is her drive to take her game to the next level. She understands her strengths and weaknesses, which in turn allows our coaching staff to move her game to the professional level. That's what's so great about her - she's coachable. She's driven not only by success individually, but also for Michigan State University."

Sophomore Laura Kueny will return to the starting five, bringing with her a 75.75 collegiate scoring average in 12 rounds. She posted two top-10 finishes during four fall tournaments as a freshman, finishing fourth at the Lady Northern and eighth at the Landfall Tradition. During the summer, she continued to impress, winning three FIDRA summer tournaments, posting the second-best qualifying score at the Women's Western Amateur Open, and winning the Trans National Women's Golf Association Amateur Championship.

Laura Kueny

"Knowing that she was ranked 80th in the country, averaging 75 strokes per round after the fall as a freshman, it was huge," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "What a talented player. She loves the game and now, she can succeed in the classroom as well. We're really looking forward to having her back. We're going to need her to post numbers and have those high finishes as the rock next to Sara. She's ready to do that."

Junior Holly Niederkohr came on strong to earn a spot in the starting five last spring, as she posted a 78.32 stroke average in 31 rounds. In 55 career rounds, she has posted a 78.09 scoring average, the 11th-best in school history. The Marysville, Ohio, native had three top-20 performances, including her first top-10 finish, a tie for ninth at the Lady Buckeye Invitational. She also finished in the top 40 at both the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Central Regionals.

"Holly has made significant contributions to the team, and now we will be looking for consistency from her in her junior year," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "Holly is a supurb athlete and is a really neat young woman because of her passion and drive to be the best. We expect her to fill one of those holes left by the seniors and along with her talent on the course, Holly also brings humor to our team. She is always making everyone smile and laugh, which is an important characteristic."

After those three, Slobodnik-Stoll said that the remaining slots in the lineup are wide open. Senior Jordyn Wells has started at times during her career, posting a 78.50 career scoring average in 42 rounds. She has finished in the top-20 twice, including an 11th-place finish at the Lady Northern at Forest Akers West last fall.

Redshirt sophomore Jen Domagalski will also have a shot at the starting five. She has gained valuable experience in her first two seasons on the team and after a solid summer of tournaments will be ready to vie for a spot on the travel team. Domagalski also qualified for match play at the Women's Western in 2007.

Redshirt freshmen Natalie Brehm and Sarah Nirenberg, along with redshirt sophomore, Ashley Dewling will also push for starting spots on the Spartan squad. Brehm, whose brother, Ryan, is a senior on the men's golf team, also earned a slot in match play at the Women's Western Open.

"Jen, Natalie and Sarah definitely plan on vying for those top five slots," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "There's a couple tournaments we're going to take six players to and they have been so diligent in their practice and working so hard that I know they are going to be pushing hard to get into one of the top spots."

The Spartan incoming freshmen include one of the deepest classes in school history, led by Aimee Neff, a Future Collegiate World Tour All-American who also had significant success in the American Junior Golf Association, winning one tournament. The Spartans will also welcome Ashley Lance, a two-time Tennessee state champ and Michelle Bowles, who comes to MSU from Mexico and starred on the Mexican Junior Golf Tour, where she finished no lower than fourth in 25 events.

"Aimee Neff is the highest-ranked player that we have coming in and we expect her to make an immediate impact. Michelle Bowles and Ashley Lance are also very talented players and wonderful young women," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "These three all have a lot of experience in the national spotlight. Michelle Caparusso and Vanessa Leon will round out the five newcomers, and we are anxious to see them in action."

Caparusso, from Mt. Prospect, Ill., qualified for the Illinois state championships three times in her career and Leon, from Brampton, Ontario, is ranked ninth by the Royal Canadian Golf Association in Canada and ranked among the top 60 amateur women in the country.

"So much can happen with five freshmen on the team and getting them adjusted to school," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "Our goal, and what we do when they move in at the end of August, is to make sure that they get settled quickly and that the older players on the team are with them on a very regular basis, just to make sure their adjustment goes smoothly. Then we can start working on who will be in the top five."

"This squad is capable of greatness and those possibilities are what motivates us on a daily basis. There aren't many breaks in the schedule to take a breather. That's the way we want it. You can only get better by playing against the best."

Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll

While the lineup may not quite be set yet, Slobodnik-Stoll has put together one of the most challenging schedules in school history. The Spartans kick off the season at home, hosting the annual Mary Fossum Invitational and then head to Penn State, host of the Big Ten Preview. Next will be a trip to Knoxville for the Mercedes Benz, and then off to Wilmington, where MSU will try to repeat as champions. The fall will end in Orlando at the Hooters Match Play tournament, which features the top 16 teams in college golf in a match play competition. Last November, Michigan State took fourth, taking down sixth-ranked Auburn in the second round.

In the spring, tough competition will be seen in the Spartans' traditional trip to the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in February, where last year the Spartans played in a field with 13 of the nation's top 25 teams. Tampa will be next on the lineup, where MSU plays host to the top teams in the Central District Invitational. Spring break will be spent in Texas, at Texas A&M for the "Mo"morial. Rounding out the March schedule will be the Bryan National Collegiate, hosted by Wake Forest and UNC Greensboro. In April, the Spartans will head to the Scarlett at Ohio State and back to Penn State for the Big Ten Championship April 27-29.

"The goal is always to play the toughest schedule we can," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "Knowing we have players that want to play professional golf and want to compete against the best, we have to give them that opportunity. We are extremely excited and happy with the way the schedule turned out."

"This squad is capable of greatness and those possibilities are what motivates us on a daily basis," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "There aren't many breaks in the schedule to take a breather. That's the way we want it. You can only get better by playing against the best."