Friday, May 17
Omni La Costa Resort & Spa (Carlsbad, Calif.)
All Day
Michigan State University
vs
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Tim Cowie - Tim Cowie Photography
Women’s Golf Tied for 12th Place Following NCAA Championships First Round
5/17/2024 10:33:00 PM | Women's Golf
Leila Raines Tied for 18th Place to Lead Spartans
East Lansing, Mich. –Michigan State women's golf team shot an even-par 288 in the opening round of the NCAA Championships at the La Costa Champions Course in Carlsbad, Calif. on Friday morning and is tied for 12th place among 30 teams.
The championship will feature 54 holes of stroke play qualifying and then the top 15 teams and nine individuals (not on advancing teams) will play a final 18 holes to determine the individual champion and the top eight teams will advance to match play. On May 21 there will be 36 holes of match play and then the match play championship will take place May 22.
"I think the day went very well," MSU Head Coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll said. "We're in two different waves but to be tied for second after the morning wave means we did our job. That's very encouraging. All five players played very nicely, they played steady, we didn't have any real big hiccups out there, so I think they felt very comfortable out on this golf course."
Clemson leads the field at 8-under par 280, with Texas A&M second at 7-under par 281, while Stanford, Auburn and Northwestern are tied for third place at 3-under par 285. MSU is tied for 12th place with Arkansas at even-par 288, just three shots out of the top-five.
Final First Round Results
The Spartans, playing in their third NCAA Championships in the last four year and the 14th under Head Coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, teed off on the par-72, 6,297-yard course at 7:57 a.m. on a gray and cloudy morning in Southern California.
MSU shared the team lead through parts of the first round, playing the front nine in 3-under par, with a trio of golfers making the turn at 1-under par.
The team's score of 288 is tied for the second-best single round by an MSU team in the NCAA Championship and the best since a 288 in the fourth round in 2014.
Senior Leila Raines, who led MSU at the NCAA East Lansing Regional with a 6-under par 210 and a fourth-place finish, continued her strong play this spring. She was even-par through the front and posted a pair of birdies on the back to finish at 1-under par 71 and finished the day tied for 18th place in the field of individuals.
Sophomore Paula Balanzategui and junior Brooke Biermann are tied for 38th place with scores of even par-72. Balanzategui opened her day with a birdie on the par-4, 357-yard first hole and finished the front at 1-under. She fell to even-par after a bogey on the 12th hole, but birdied the par-4, 312-yard 15th hole and finished her day at even. Biermann was at 1-under par through the front, with a birdie on the par-4, 370-yard fifth hole, and played the back at 1-over to finish at even.
Junior Katie Lu is tied for 58th place at 1-over par 73. Lu finished her round with three birdies, including two on the back nine, and four birdies.
Junior Shannon Kennedy had birdies on back-to-back holes on the front – the par-4, 370-yard fifth hole and the par-5, 513-yard sixth hole – and played the first nine at 1-under par before finishing the back nine at 3-over par to stand in a tie for 75th place at 2-over par 74.
The Spartans will tee off on Saturday, May 18 in the second round at 1:17 p.m. PT (4:17 p.m. ET), starting on the 10th hole and playing alongside Purdue and Baylor.
"This is a long, long tournament, it's a grind," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "Every shot counts and it's just being patient and knowing that today is only the first day until next Wednesday if you make it to the national championship finals. You've to pace yourself and you've got to be patient."
The championship will feature 54 holes of stroke play qualifying and then the top 15 teams and nine individuals (not on advancing teams) will play a final 18 holes to determine the individual champion and the top eight teams will advance to match play. On May 21 there will be 36 holes of match play and then the match play championship will take place May 22.
"I think the day went very well," MSU Head Coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll said. "We're in two different waves but to be tied for second after the morning wave means we did our job. That's very encouraging. All five players played very nicely, they played steady, we didn't have any real big hiccups out there, so I think they felt very comfortable out on this golf course."
Clemson leads the field at 8-under par 280, with Texas A&M second at 7-under par 281, while Stanford, Auburn and Northwestern are tied for third place at 3-under par 285. MSU is tied for 12th place with Arkansas at even-par 288, just three shots out of the top-five.
Final First Round Results
The Spartans, playing in their third NCAA Championships in the last four year and the 14th under Head Coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, teed off on the par-72, 6,297-yard course at 7:57 a.m. on a gray and cloudy morning in Southern California.
MSU shared the team lead through parts of the first round, playing the front nine in 3-under par, with a trio of golfers making the turn at 1-under par.
The team's score of 288 is tied for the second-best single round by an MSU team in the NCAA Championship and the best since a 288 in the fourth round in 2014.
Senior Leila Raines, who led MSU at the NCAA East Lansing Regional with a 6-under par 210 and a fourth-place finish, continued her strong play this spring. She was even-par through the front and posted a pair of birdies on the back to finish at 1-under par 71 and finished the day tied for 18th place in the field of individuals.
Sophomore Paula Balanzategui and junior Brooke Biermann are tied for 38th place with scores of even par-72. Balanzategui opened her day with a birdie on the par-4, 357-yard first hole and finished the front at 1-under. She fell to even-par after a bogey on the 12th hole, but birdied the par-4, 312-yard 15th hole and finished her day at even. Biermann was at 1-under par through the front, with a birdie on the par-4, 370-yard fifth hole, and played the back at 1-over to finish at even.
Junior Katie Lu is tied for 58th place at 1-over par 73. Lu finished her round with three birdies, including two on the back nine, and four birdies.
Junior Shannon Kennedy had birdies on back-to-back holes on the front – the par-4, 370-yard fifth hole and the par-5, 513-yard sixth hole – and played the first nine at 1-under par before finishing the back nine at 3-over par to stand in a tie for 75th place at 2-over par 74.
The Spartans will tee off on Saturday, May 18 in the second round at 1:17 p.m. PT (4:17 p.m. ET), starting on the 10th hole and playing alongside Purdue and Baylor.
"This is a long, long tournament, it's a grind," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "Every shot counts and it's just being patient and knowing that today is only the first day until next Wednesday if you make it to the national championship finals. You've to pace yourself and you've got to be patient."
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
Never Playing Alone | Spartans All-Access
Tuesday, May 20
Moving in the Right Direction | Spartans All-Access
Monday, February 10
Day in the Life with Women's Golf | Spartans All-Access
Tuesday, October 01
Michgan State Women's Golf at NCAA Championships | Cinematic Highlight | May 17-19,2024
Tuesday, May 21