Gabby Yurik Qualifies for NCAA Women's Golf Regionals
4/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Junior Gabby Yurik has qualified to play as an individual in the NCAA Women's Golf Regionals, the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Committee announced Monday night on the Golf Channel. Yurik will be one of six individuals competing in the South Bend Regional on May 7-9 (Thursday-Saturday) at the Warren Golf Course; the tournament will be hosted by Notre Dame.
As a team, the Spartans came up just short of qualifying for the NCAA Regionals for the 17th consecutive season. MSU finished No. 57 in the final Golfstat rankings, while Wisconsin closed at No. 56; the Badgers earned an at-large bid as a No. 14 seed in the regional played in St. George, Utah.
"The reality of the situation was that we didn't do what we needed to do throughout the whole season," said 18th-year MSU head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, who has led the Spartans to 16 appearances in the NCAA Regionals and 10 trips to the NCAA Championships during her tenure. "It's extremely hard because I felt like we played so well the last month and a half, so everyone was excited about what we were doing and they were ready to keep it going. I think it was hard for some of the kids to understand because they felt so good (about the last few tournaments), but they need to understand that this is a yearlong process, and there's not any tournament that's weighted more than another; it's an accumulation of your whole body of work."
The Spartans placed fourth at the Big Ten Championships over the weekend with a season-low score of 14-over-par 878. MSU has finished in the top four at the Big Ten Championships 12 years in a row. The Spartans played the nation's 31st-most difficult schedule, including a runner-up finish in the Mary Fossum Invitational in September and a third-place showing at the Lady Buckeye Invitational in mid-April.
The Spartans were playing their best golf of the season during the last month. Before shooting a season-low 878 at the Big Ten Championships, the Spartans carded a then season-low of 890 at the Lady Buckeye Invitational. At the Briar's Creek Invitational (March 23-24) in Johns Island, South Carolina, the Spartans tied for sixth out of 17 teams and shot a 290 in the final round, their lowest single-round of the season. MSU tied for 10th place at the Bryan National Collegiate (April 3-5) in Greensboro, North Carolina, but still finished ahead of Big Ten Champion Northwestern.
"I think it's a great lesson," remarked Slobodnik-Stoll. "We had some big changes on our team throughout the year that made a difference, but I think the biggest thing is that this is just one small blip on the radar. The motto of the University is Spartans Will. We will get over it and get back in the saddle and continue to work hard.
"Everyone was visibly upset, but the lesson is that we need to remember that moment, and know that we never want to be in that position again. I went over the expectations of our program and what we've worked so hard for in the past 18 years and what we've created. Again, this is just a small thing. It doesn't feel very small right now, but it will be once we get going again. We'll have five starters coming back from this team and we're adding five freshmen next year."
For the first time, the NCAA Women's Golf Championships are divided into four regional sites and conclude with the finals May 22-27 at Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida. The previous setup was three regionals and 24 teams. Each regional site hosts 18 teams and six individuals, with the top-six teams and top-three individuals in each region advancing to the finals. The regional tournament format is 54 holes over three days.
Yurik, a native of Rochester, Michigan, has remarkably posted a career-low score in each of her last five tournaments in a row. She tied for 12th at the Big Ten Championships with a 3-over 219 and led the team with 10 birdies over the weekend. Yurik owns the lowest scoring average on the team (75.20) and also has the most birdies (66). She has three top-10 finishes this season, including a career-best fifth at the Lady Buckeye Invitational.
"It's a great accomplishment for Gabby," said Slobodnik-Stoll. "She deserves to be there and she's going to have a shot to play in the NCAA Championships. It still says great things about our program. Gabby has progressed so far in what she's doing, even from last year to this year. I'm very, very happy for her that she still has this opportunity."
Live scoring of the regional in South Bend will be available at ncaa.com.
Players Mentioned
