NCAA Championships Start on Friday Morning for Spartans

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State women's golf team will be competing in the NCAA Championships for the 17th time in program history. Play begins Friday morning (May 16) for all 30 teams at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

The Spartans will tee off on the 10th hole at 6:30 a.m. PT (9:30 a.m. ET) on the par 72, 6,330-yard course at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, playing alongside Kansas and Florida.

After finishing in third place at the NCAA Norman Regional last week, the Spartans will be making their fourth NCAA Championships appearance in the last five years and the 15th under Head Coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll.

The Lineup
1. Brooke Biermann
2. Taylor Kehoe
3. Katie Lu
4. Ana Sofia Murcia
5. Paula Balanzategui
SUB – Catalina Monroy

Tournament Schedule
Friday, May 16: Round 1 of Stroke Play (Tee Times starting at 9:30 a.m. ET)
Saturday, May 17: Round 2 of Stroke Play (Tee Times starting at 9:30 a.m. ET)
Sunday, May 18: Round 3 of Stroke Play (Tee Times starting at 9:30 a.m. ET)
Field of 30 cut to 15 teams
Monday, May 19: Final Round of Stroke Play (Tee Times starting at 1:30 p.m. ET)
Individual national champion determined, field of 15 cut to 8 teams for Match Play
Tuesday, May 20: Quarterfinals (Tee Times starting at 9:50 a.m. ET)
Tuesday, May 20: Semifinals (Tee Times starting at 4:15 p.m. ET)
Wednesday, May 21: National Championship Match (Tee Times starting at 5:25 p.m. ET)

Starting Five...

The Spartans are making their 17th NCAA Championships appearance and fourth in the last five years.
MSU finished in third place in last week's NCAA Norman Regional … It was the program's ninth-straight appearance in the NCAA Regionals and the 25th in the last 26 years.
Michigan State is ranked No. 24 in the country in the latest NCAA Division I Rankings.
The Spartans, who won the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational on Feb. 17 (4-under par 860) have posted nine top-5 team finishes this season have finished runner-up or tied for second on four occasions.
Senior Brooke Bierman was named All-Big Ten First Team last week and junior Taylor Kehoe earned second team all-league honors.

About the Spartans
Michigan State enters the NCAA Championships following a third-place showing at the NCAA Norman Regional … Junior Taylor Kehoe led the way for the Spartans, firing a 3-under par 69 in the final round to finish in a tie for fifth place individually at 4-under par 212 (72-71-69).

Overall this year, the Spartans have finished among the top-five teams nine times, including seven finishes among the top-three teams and one team win, firing a 4-under par 860 to capture the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational in February.
Biermann has been the leader for Michigan State this year, carrying a team-best 71.66 scoring average, with four top-5 finishes, five top-10s and 10 among the top-20 in 10 events.
- Biermann, who has been the team's top finisher seven times this year, has a 71.95 average in the spring with six top-20 finishes.
- Her season scoring average of 71.66 currently ranks as the fourth-best average for a single-season in program history.
Kehoe is second on the team in scoring average (72.11), with two top-5 finishes, five top-10s and eight among the top-20 overall.
- A transfer from Alabama, Kehoe has had 96.3 percent of her rounds count toward the team total (26-of-27) rounds and has two fifth-place finishes, placing fifth at the Buckeye Invitational on April 5 and tying for fifth at the regional.
- Kehoe has a team-leading 71.53 scoring average in the spring with five top-20 finishes and four among the top-10.
- Her 72.11 scoring average currently ranks as the fifth-best single season average in program history.
Senior Katie Lu is third on the team in scoring average at 72.74, with one top-five finish, two top-10 and seven among the top-20 in 11 events.
- Lu's best finish this year was a tie for fifth place at 1-under par 145 in the rain-shortened Valspar Augusta Invitational on March 15-16.
Biermann and Lu enter the postseason with career scoring averages at Michigan State that rank among the top-five in program history.
- Biermann is third all-time with a 72.94 scoring average, while Lu ranks fourth all-time at 73.37.
The MSU lineup this weekend also includes junior Paula Balanzategui and sophomore Ana Sofia Murcia.
- A junior, Balanzategui is fourth on the team with a 74.24 scoring average, including a 73.20 average in the spring.
- Murcia is fifth on the team with a 74.48 scoring average, including a 74.50 mark in seven spring events.
- Her best finish this year was a tie for 18th place at the Valspar Augusta Invitational at 6-over par 150.
- Freshman Catalina Monroy is sixth on the team with a 75.25 average and has two top-20 finishes.

NCAA Championship Experience

Michigan State's starting lineup includes three players from last year's team that finished tied for 17th at the NCAA Championships.
Seniors Brooke Biermann and Katie Lu are making their third-straight appearance in the NCAA Championships.
Biermann shot a 6-over par 222 (73-74-75) and tied for 65th place in the 2023 NCAA Championships and was at 11-over par 227 (72-78-77) last year and tied for 86th place.
Lu tied for 30th place in 2023 as a sophomore, shooting a 1-over par 217 (72-73-73) and tied for 30th place.
Last year, Lu was one of the top individual finishers not among the advancing teams, along with teammate Leila Raines, and played in the fourth round of stroke play at the NCAA Championships ... She tied for 45th place at the NCAA Championships (5/17-20) at 10-over par 298 (73-75-72-78).
After traveling with the team as a substitute in 2023, junior Paula Balanzategui made her NCAA Championships debut in 2024, finishing in a tie for 135th place at 20-over par 236 (72-88-76).

Regional Recap

Michigan State shot a 2-over par 290 in the third and final round of the NCAA Norman Regional on May 6 at the Jimmie Austin Golf Club in Oklahoma to finish in third place and earn a trip to the NCAA Championships.
The regional was originally scheduled to be played over three days, but inclement weather forced the field to play 36 holes on May 5 before closing with 18 on May 6.
The Spartans, who fired a 6-under par 282 in the second round, entered Tuesday's final round in third place in the 12-team field … After dropping a couple of shots making the turn on the back nine on Tuesday, junior Taylor Kehoe posted back-to-back birdies as MSU moved back into third place and clinched a spot to its third-straight NCAA Championships appearance and fourth in the last five years.
MSU finished the 54-hole tournament at 1-under par 863 (291-282-290), the second-lowest 54-hole score in an NCAA Regional in program history.
Kehoe led the way for the Spartans on Tuesday, firing a 3-under par 69 to finish in a tie for fifth place individually at 4-under par 212 (72-71-69) … She posted five birdies in Tuesday's final round, including three on the back nine to help secure the finish for MSU … Her round of 69 is tied for the fifth-lowest by a Spartan in an NCAA Regional and her 54-hole score of 212 is tied for the second-lowest in program history.
Kehoe was one of three Spartans to finish among the top-10 overall, joined by seniors Brooke Biermann and Katie Lu, who tied for 11th place with scores of even-par 72.
Biermann shot a 4-over par 76 in the final to round to finish at even-par 216 (73-67-76). Her second-round score of 5-under par 67 is tied for the second-lowest 18-hole score for an MSU player at an NCAA Regional. She finished tied for fifth in the field with 11 birdies.
Lu was steady throughout the tournament, finishing at even-par 216 with three-straight rounds of even-par 72. Lu, along with Kehoe, tied for second in the field with 40 pars.
Sophomore Ana Sofia Murcia tied for 38th place at 7-over par 223 (74-72-77) and junior Paula Balanzategui finished in 47th place at 9-over par 225 (77-75-73).

For the Record Book

Seniors Brooke Biermann, and Katie Lu rank among the top players in program history.
Biermann has enjoyed the best season of her career, with one individual title, four top-5 finishes and 10 among the top-20 overall.
Her 71.66 scoring average is current the fourth-best single-season average in program history and she has three of the top-20 single-season marks at MSU.
During her career, Biermann has seven top-5 finishes, 11 among the top-10 and 26 among top-20.
Her career average of 72.94 ranks third all-time in program history.
When Biermann won the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational in February, she joined Lu as one of 13 players in program history with at least two career wins.
Lu posted a 71.54 scoring average last year, the second-best single-season in program history, and was an honorable mention All-American.
Her career scoring average of 73.37 ranks fourth all-time at Michigan State.
Junior Paula Balanzategui's career average of 74.75 ranks 11th all-time at Michigan State.
Junior Taylor Kehoe's current 72.11 average is a personal best and is fifth-best single season mark in MSU history.

Michigan State NCAA Regional Notes

Michigan State will be making its 17th all-time appearance at the NCAA Championships, including 15 trips under head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll. MSU has advanced to the NCAA Championships four of the past five seasons.
This will be the third-straight appearance in the NCAA Championships for the Spartans.
MSU's team score of 863 was the second-best 54-hole score in an NCAA Regional, just behind the team's score of 860 in last year's NCAA East Lansing Regional.
The third-place finish at the NCAA Norman Regional tied for the second-best for the Spartans in an NCAA Regional (first at 2023 Palm Beach Regional; third place on four previous occasions in 2001, 2004, 2017 and 2024).
Last week was MSU's 25th all-time appearance in an NCAA Regional.
Taylor Kehoe shot a 4-under 212, tied for the second-lowest 54-hole score by a Spartan in an NCAA Regional. She ties the mark of 212 set by Sarah Burnham at the 2018 Austin Regional.

Players Mentioned

Paula Balanzategui

Brooke Biermann

Taylor Kehoe

Katie Lu

Catalina Monroy

Ana Sofia Murcia

Leila Raines

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