Gabby Yurik Set to Compete at NCAA South Bend Regional
5/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Official Tournament Website | Live Scoring
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Junior Gabby Yurik will represent Michigan State this week (Thursday-Saturday, May 7-9) at the NCAA Women's Golf Regional in South Bend, Indiana. The tournament will be held at the par 72, 6,301-yard Warren Golf Course on the Notre Dame campus.
In addition to 18 teams, Yurik will be one of six individuals competing in the South Bend Regional. 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 (not on advancing teams) in each region advancing to the finals. The regional tournament format is 54 holes over three days.
A native of Oakland Township, Michigan, Yurik will be the first Spartan to compete as an individual at the NCAA Women's Golf Regionals under 18th-year head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, as the Spartans had made the NCAA Regionals as a team for 16 consecutive seasons (dating back to 1999, Slobodnik-Stoll's second season at MSU).
The Spartans narrowly missed the NCAA field this spring, finishing 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.
"It took me awhile to get used to the idea (of playing as an individual), because when we were watching the (NCAA Selection Show) the emotions switched so quickly," Yurik said. "I thought the season was over, and then it was like, wait, what's happening, I'm going? But as the week has gone on, I've practiced with a couple of my friends and I'm getting back into the rhythm, and now it's getting ready for another tournament. I might be by myself, but I know some teammates will be there, and my family will be there, so I'm excited."
"Gabby is always ready to go," said Slobodnik-Stoll. "She's an athlete and always competitive in almost everything that she does. We're looking forward to going to Notre Dame and seeing the golf course. It looks like the weather conditions are going to be great. Gabby also has finals to deal with this week; that's another big thing to deal with before competition.
"I think it is a little different mindset that she understands that the top three go (to the NCAA Championships) outside of the top six teams. But once she's on the golf course, she's going to play the best golf that she can and enjoy the experience. It's a great opportunity for her and for the program. I'm looking forward to a great week."
Yurik, who was a first-team All-Big Ten selection, 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 in the tournament. 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.
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.
"I think it's just getting into a rhythm of playing tournaments," commented Yurik on the biggest change from her first two seasons. "I'm a junior, but this is actually the first year that I've played in each consecutive event. I've gotten into the rhythm of playing on the travel team. With each tournament, I had higher expectations each time, and I just felt more comfortable and that I could beat anyone out there. It was more of a mindset.
"That's what makes it special to me; it's not just any other accomplishment (playing in the NCAA Regionals). This time last year, I was playing in some of my first events. Two years ago at this time, I hadn't played at all. I went home after my freshman year not having qualified for a single event. It's been a quick turnaround. I feel like it's where I'm supposed to be, so that's a positive."
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.
In addition to Yurik, the other five individual qualifiers are: Madchen Ly (Fresno State), Elizabeth Tong (Indiana), Martina Edberg (Cal State Fullerton), Leilanie Kim (Idaho) and Michaela Fletcher (Memphis).
The 18 teams that will be playing in South Bend are (in order of seed): Arizona, Duke, Oklahoma State, Wake Forest, UC Davis, Pepperdine, Tulane, Notre Dame, Purdue, Kent State, Louisville, San Jose State, North Carolina, Kentucky, Harvard, Troy, Eastern Kentucky and Youngstown State.
Although Yurik has never played the Warren Golf Course, she's leaning on Spartan assistant coach Aimee Neff for a few pointers this week. Neff, a native of Indiana, has played the course several times.
"The one person who does have experience with the course is (assistant coach) Aimee (Neff)," said Slobodnik-Stoll. "Aimee has played it quite a bit; she played the USGA Publinks Championship there (in 2010). So Aimee will give Gabby the keys on where to hit it on the course. But we'll do a good job on Wednesday (practice round) mapping it out."
"No matter what, this is going to be a completely new experience," remarked Yurik of playing as an individual in an NCAA event. "I can't really rely on any other type of tournament because it's not going to be like any other tournament; it is just going to be me. I'm just going to go out and play my best."
Live scoring of the regional in South Bend will be available at golfstat.com.
ABOUT THE WARREN GOLF COURSE (From UND.com):
Thanks to the generous benefaction of 1956 Notre Dame graduate William K. Warren, and his wife, Natalie, the Warren Golf Course opened on May 1, 2000, and was designed by the Austin, Texas-based firm of Coore and Crenshaw, headed by Bill Coore and PGA Tour veteran (and two-time Masters champion) Ben Crenshaw. During its relatively brief 15-year existence, the Warren Golf Course has played host to the 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship, six U.S. Men's Amateur Championship qualifiers, two Western Amateur Championship qualifiers, three NCAA regional tournaments (the 2005 and 2010 NCAA men's Central Regionals, in addition to the 2011 NCAA women's Central Regional), and eight BIG EAST Conference Championships (five men and three women).
Noted for its turn-of-the-century, old-world charm that recalls the classic early Irish and American courses, the Warren Golf Course is built upon subtleties, including small undulating greens and numerous strategically-placed bunkers. Since its opening, the Warren Golf Course has been named of the best new courses in America by Golf Digest, has been tabbed a must-play venue by both Links Magazine and Golf Digest, has consistently been chosen as one of the top 10 layouts in Indiana, according to the Golfweek state-by-state ranking of the nation's "Courses You Can Play," and since 2010, has annually been selected as one of the top 15 college layouts in the country on the Golfweek list of "Best Campus Courses."
Players Mentioned
