Michigan State University Athletics
Friday, April 24
Oakmont Country Club (Glendale, Calif.)
All Day
Michigan State University
vs
Big Ten Championships
Women’s Golf Goes West, Aiming for a Big Ten Title Starting on Friday
4/23/2026 4:38:00 PM | Women's Golf
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's women's golf team starts the postseason on Friday in the first round of the Big Ten Championships, with the Spartans aiming for their fourth title in the last nine championships.
The three-day, 54-hole event will take place from Friday, April 24 to Sunday, April 26 at Oakmont Country Club (par 70, playing 6,086 yards on Friday; 6,134 yards on Saturday; and 6,107 yards for Sunday's final round).
The Spartans tee off at 12:20 p.m (ET), playing alongside Northwestern and Ohio State.
Live scoring will be available via Clippd.
THE LINEUP
1. Sarisa Pojanalai
2. Lucia Valderrama
3. Taylor Kehoe
4. Paula Balanzategui
5. Grace Vetter
SUB – Ana Sofia Murcia
THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
Illinois (50), Indiana (46), Iowa (84), Maryland (67), Michigan (56), Michigan State (40), Minnesota (73), Nebraska (76), Northwestern (30), Ohio State (32), Oregon (4), Penn State (75), Purdue (45), Rutgers (79), UCLA (14), USC (2), Washington (89) and Wisconsin (91).
SPARTANS AT THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Michigan State has won six of the last 14 Big Ten Championships and 14 in total, which is second-most in conference history. Under head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, MSU has eight titles (2001, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2021). MSU won five consecutive Big Ten titles from 1974-78, and also claimed a conference crown in 1982 in addition to the eight won by Slobodnik-Stoll. In the Big Ten record books, MSU is credited with nine Big Ten Championships, as the conference did not officially sanction women's sports until 1982.
Michigan State has finished in the top four at the Big Ten Championships in 17 of the last 20 years and 22 times under Slobodnik-Stoll.
Last year, the Spartans shot a 5-over par 293 in the final round finished in second place among 18 teams at the Big Ten Championship, held at Bulle Rock Golf Course Maryland … The Spartans had fired a tournament-best 7-under par 281 in Saturday's second round to take a three-shot lead heading into the final round but Oregon carded a 12-under par 276 on Sunday to pull away for the team title … The Ducks, ranked No. 5 nationally, finished atop the field at 12-under par 852 (286-290-276), with the Spartans in second place at 2-over par 866 (292-281-293) …. Then-senior Brooke Biermann led the Spartans, finishing in fourth place at 3-under par 213 (72-69-72). Biermann had a strong back nine with three birdies, including back-to-back on the 14th and 15th holes, to move into a tie for second place before a bogey on 18 … Senior Taylor Kehoe tied for 10th place at even-par 216 (72-71-73). Kehoe had seven birdies in the final round, including five on the back nine.
ABOUT THE SPARTANS
Michigan State closed out the regular season with a fourth-place finish among 14 teams at the Buckeye Invitational on April 17-18. In six spring events, the Spartans finished among the top-five four times, including a team win at the Carolina Challenge Cup on April 4 at Finley Golf Club in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Last week in Ohio, the Spartans shot a 14-over par 302 in the final round to finish in fourth place among 14 teams at the Buckeye Invitational … MSU posted a two-day score of 39-over par 903 (299-302-302) to finish in fourth place, 13 shots off the pace of host Ohio State, who won the tournament title at 26-over par 890 (295-294-301) … Freshman Sarisa Pojanalai led the Spartans with a score of 8-over par 224 (75-72-77), tying for ninth place overall … This was the first time leading the team, her first career top-10 finish and the third time finishing among the top-20 in the spring … Classmate Lucia Valderrama tied for 11th place at 9-over par 225 (77-75-73). She had the team's best round of the day at 1-over par 73. Her 11th place finish marked her second-straight top-20 finish
On April 4 in North Carolina, MSU took home the team championship at the 2026 Carolina Challenge Cup, the Spartans' first team win this season and their best finish since the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational in 2025 … The Spartans were the only team in the field to finish under par, carding an 8-under par 552 (276-276) … Leading the way for the Spartans was senior Taylor Kehoe, who finished in first place overall and collected the first win of her career with a 6-under par 134 (68-66) performance … Kehoe's 4-under par 66 in the second round was the best single round of her Spartan career, with her previous best being a 64 in 2023 while at Alabama … Following Kehoe was classmate Paula Balanzategui, finishing in second place in the field at 3-under par 137 (67-70) … Balanzategui's second place finish tied the best finish of her collegiate career … Freshman Lucia Valderrama finished tied for fifth place among the field at 1-under par 139 (72-67) … Valderrama's second round 3-under par 67 was the best round of her career, tallying five birdies in the round.
Balanzategui and Kehoe lead the team in scoring average and rounds played this season (27 apiece) … Kehoe, who has one top-5 finish, three among the top-10 and seven among the top-20, leads the team with a 72.74 scoring average … Balanzategui, who has two top-5 finishes, four among the top-10 and five in the top-20, is second on the team with a 72.78 scoring average and has had 96.2 percent of her rounds count toward the team total.
The MSU lineup for the Big Ten Championships includes three underclassmen, including sophomore Grace Vetter and a pair of freshmen, Sarisa Pojanalai and Lucia Valderrama … Vetter has played in 18 rounds over seven events, carrying a 74.06 scoring average, with two top-20 finishes … Pojanalai is fourth on the team with a 74.68 scoring average in 19 rounds this season, including three top-20 showings, all in the spring season … She is coming off a career-best ninth-place finish at the Buckeye Invitational and has a 73.10 scoring average in four events during the second half of the season … Valderrama is fifth on the team with a 74.84 scoring average over seven events and 19 rebounds … She has a top-10 finish this season and two in the top-20, both coming in the last two events … She tied for fifth place at Carolina Challenge Cup at 1-under par 139 and tied for 11th place at the Buckeye Invitational at 9-over par 225 … Valderrama has a 74.82 scoring average in the spring … Junior Ana Sofia Murcia is also in the lineup for the Spartans this weekend as a sub … In 22 rounds over eight events, she has carried a 75.18 scoring average with three top-20 finishes.
THE COURSE
Oakmont Country Club in Glendale, California will play as a par 70 that will measure between 6,086-6,134 yards for the conference championships … The club was founded in 1922 under golf course architect Max H. Behr before undergoing an extensive redesign by Brian Curley in 2008. It began as a nine-hole course before expanding to 18 holes in 1925 … Oakmont has hosted several LPGA tournaments over the years … Golf legends Ben Hogan, Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam have played at Oakmont throughout the club's history.
The three-day, 54-hole event will take place from Friday, April 24 to Sunday, April 26 at Oakmont Country Club (par 70, playing 6,086 yards on Friday; 6,134 yards on Saturday; and 6,107 yards for Sunday's final round).
The Spartans tee off at 12:20 p.m (ET), playing alongside Northwestern and Ohio State.
Live scoring will be available via Clippd.
THE LINEUP
1. Sarisa Pojanalai
2. Lucia Valderrama
3. Taylor Kehoe
4. Paula Balanzategui
5. Grace Vetter
SUB – Ana Sofia Murcia
THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
Illinois (50), Indiana (46), Iowa (84), Maryland (67), Michigan (56), Michigan State (40), Minnesota (73), Nebraska (76), Northwestern (30), Ohio State (32), Oregon (4), Penn State (75), Purdue (45), Rutgers (79), UCLA (14), USC (2), Washington (89) and Wisconsin (91).
SPARTANS AT THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Michigan State has won six of the last 14 Big Ten Championships and 14 in total, which is second-most in conference history. Under head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, MSU has eight titles (2001, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2021). MSU won five consecutive Big Ten titles from 1974-78, and also claimed a conference crown in 1982 in addition to the eight won by Slobodnik-Stoll. In the Big Ten record books, MSU is credited with nine Big Ten Championships, as the conference did not officially sanction women's sports until 1982.
Michigan State has finished in the top four at the Big Ten Championships in 17 of the last 20 years and 22 times under Slobodnik-Stoll.
Last year, the Spartans shot a 5-over par 293 in the final round finished in second place among 18 teams at the Big Ten Championship, held at Bulle Rock Golf Course Maryland … The Spartans had fired a tournament-best 7-under par 281 in Saturday's second round to take a three-shot lead heading into the final round but Oregon carded a 12-under par 276 on Sunday to pull away for the team title … The Ducks, ranked No. 5 nationally, finished atop the field at 12-under par 852 (286-290-276), with the Spartans in second place at 2-over par 866 (292-281-293) …. Then-senior Brooke Biermann led the Spartans, finishing in fourth place at 3-under par 213 (72-69-72). Biermann had a strong back nine with three birdies, including back-to-back on the 14th and 15th holes, to move into a tie for second place before a bogey on 18 … Senior Taylor Kehoe tied for 10th place at even-par 216 (72-71-73). Kehoe had seven birdies in the final round, including five on the back nine.
ABOUT THE SPARTANS
Michigan State closed out the regular season with a fourth-place finish among 14 teams at the Buckeye Invitational on April 17-18. In six spring events, the Spartans finished among the top-five four times, including a team win at the Carolina Challenge Cup on April 4 at Finley Golf Club in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Last week in Ohio, the Spartans shot a 14-over par 302 in the final round to finish in fourth place among 14 teams at the Buckeye Invitational … MSU posted a two-day score of 39-over par 903 (299-302-302) to finish in fourth place, 13 shots off the pace of host Ohio State, who won the tournament title at 26-over par 890 (295-294-301) … Freshman Sarisa Pojanalai led the Spartans with a score of 8-over par 224 (75-72-77), tying for ninth place overall … This was the first time leading the team, her first career top-10 finish and the third time finishing among the top-20 in the spring … Classmate Lucia Valderrama tied for 11th place at 9-over par 225 (77-75-73). She had the team's best round of the day at 1-over par 73. Her 11th place finish marked her second-straight top-20 finish
On April 4 in North Carolina, MSU took home the team championship at the 2026 Carolina Challenge Cup, the Spartans' first team win this season and their best finish since the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational in 2025 … The Spartans were the only team in the field to finish under par, carding an 8-under par 552 (276-276) … Leading the way for the Spartans was senior Taylor Kehoe, who finished in first place overall and collected the first win of her career with a 6-under par 134 (68-66) performance … Kehoe's 4-under par 66 in the second round was the best single round of her Spartan career, with her previous best being a 64 in 2023 while at Alabama … Following Kehoe was classmate Paula Balanzategui, finishing in second place in the field at 3-under par 137 (67-70) … Balanzategui's second place finish tied the best finish of her collegiate career … Freshman Lucia Valderrama finished tied for fifth place among the field at 1-under par 139 (72-67) … Valderrama's second round 3-under par 67 was the best round of her career, tallying five birdies in the round.
Balanzategui and Kehoe lead the team in scoring average and rounds played this season (27 apiece) … Kehoe, who has one top-5 finish, three among the top-10 and seven among the top-20, leads the team with a 72.74 scoring average … Balanzategui, who has two top-5 finishes, four among the top-10 and five in the top-20, is second on the team with a 72.78 scoring average and has had 96.2 percent of her rounds count toward the team total.
The MSU lineup for the Big Ten Championships includes three underclassmen, including sophomore Grace Vetter and a pair of freshmen, Sarisa Pojanalai and Lucia Valderrama … Vetter has played in 18 rounds over seven events, carrying a 74.06 scoring average, with two top-20 finishes … Pojanalai is fourth on the team with a 74.68 scoring average in 19 rounds this season, including three top-20 showings, all in the spring season … She is coming off a career-best ninth-place finish at the Buckeye Invitational and has a 73.10 scoring average in four events during the second half of the season … Valderrama is fifth on the team with a 74.84 scoring average over seven events and 19 rebounds … She has a top-10 finish this season and two in the top-20, both coming in the last two events … She tied for fifth place at Carolina Challenge Cup at 1-under par 139 and tied for 11th place at the Buckeye Invitational at 9-over par 225 … Valderrama has a 74.82 scoring average in the spring … Junior Ana Sofia Murcia is also in the lineup for the Spartans this weekend as a sub … In 22 rounds over eight events, she has carried a 75.18 scoring average with three top-20 finishes.
THE COURSE
Oakmont Country Club in Glendale, California will play as a par 70 that will measure between 6,086-6,134 yards for the conference championships … The club was founded in 1922 under golf course architect Max H. Behr before undergoing an extensive redesign by Brian Curley in 2008. It began as a nine-hole course before expanding to 18 holes in 1925 … Oakmont has hosted several LPGA tournaments over the years … Golf legends Ben Hogan, Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam have played at Oakmont throughout the club's history.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ 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