Gabby Yurik Named First-Team All-Big Ten
4/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Junior Gabby Yurik has been selected to the All-Big Ten First Team, the conference announced Tuesday afternoon.
Yurik, who qualified as an individual to compete in the NCAA Regional in South Bend, Indiana, leads the Spartans in scoring average (75.20) and birdies (66). A native of Rochester, Michigan, Yurik has 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 during the event. Yurik started all 10 tournaments for MSU and has three top-10 finishes this season, including a career-best fifth at the Lady Buckeye Invitational.
Although Yurik is a junior, this is just her second year competing for the Spartans after she redshirted during the 2012-13 season. Last year, Yurik played in six tournaments and compiled a 76.89 scoring average. She was a starter on MSU's Big Ten Championship team and also competed at the NCAA West Regional and NCAA Championships.
For her career, Yurik owns a 75.83 scoring average in 48 rounds with five top-10 finishes and seven top-20 finishes. Her career scoring average is currently the sixth-lowest in program history.
Yurik will be one of six individuals, along with 18 teams, 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. The top-three individuals will advance to the NCAA Championships May 22-27 in Bradenton, Florida.
Yurik is MSU head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll's 24th first-team All-Big Ten selection and 39th overall.
In addition, senior Lindsey McPherson was Michigan State's honoree for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. All Sportsmanship Award honorees have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior, must be in good academic standing, and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
McPherson paced the Spartans at the Big Ten Championships by tying for fifth place with a career-low 1-under 217 (69-74-74). The 217 was not only a career low, but the best 54-hole score ever by a Spartan at the Big Ten Championships (54-hole format from 1981-84; 2012-15). In addition, her first round of 3-under 69 was a career low and tied for the second-lowest round in program history at the Big Ten Championships. Her career-best performance landed her on the All-Championships Team. McPherson's scoring average of 76.43 ranked third on the team and she was second with 63 birdies. She is currently pursuing her master's degree in business analytics.
Players Mentioned
