Women’s Golf Begins Play in NCAA Championships on Friday

Friday, May 22

Omni La Costa Resort & Spa (Carlsbad, Calif.)

All Day

Michigan State University

NCAA Championships

Taylor Kehoe at the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional in 2026

Women’s Golf Begins Play in NCAA Championships on Friday

5/21/2026 3:00:00 PM | Women's Golf

Live Scoring

Michigan State Makes 18th NCAA Championships Appearance

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State women's golf team will be competing in the NCAA Championships for the 18th time in program history. Play begins Friday morning (May 22) for all 30 teams at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

The Spartans tee off on Friday at 11:20 a.m. (ET) from the 10th hole, playing alongside Oregon State and Texas Tech.

Live scoring will be available via Clippd.

After finishing in a tie for fourth place at the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional last week, the Spartans will be making their fourth-straight NCAA Championships appearance, the fifth in the last six years and the 16th under Head Coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll.

THE LINEUP
1. Taylor Kehoe
2. Lucia Valderrama
3. Sarisa Pojanalai
4. Ana Sofia Murcia
5. Grace Vetter
SUB – Catalina Monroy

Tournament Schedule
Friday, May 22: Round 1 of Stroke Play
Saturday, May 23: Round 2 of Stroke Play
Sunday, May 24: Round 3 of Stroke Play
Field of 30 cut to 15 teams
Monday, May 25: Final Round of Stroke Play
Individual national champion determined, field of 15 cut to 8 teams for Match Play
Tuesday, May 26: Quarterfinals & Semifinals
Wednesday, May 27: National Championship Match

STARTING FIVE…

The Spartans are making their 18th NCAA Championships appearance, the program's fourth-straight and the fifth in the last six years.
MSU finished in third place in last week's NCAA Chapel Hill Regional, the seventh time MSU has advanced to the NCAA's when not being among the top-five seeds at the regional.
Michigan State is ranked No. 38 in the country in the latest NCAA Division I Rankings.
The Spartans, who won the Carolina Challenge Cup on April 4 (8-under par 552) have posted eight top-5 team finishes, including five in the spring season.
Senior Taylor Kehoe was an All-Big Ten Second Team selection, earned a spot on the All-Big Ten Championship Team and has been the team's top finisher seven times.

ABOUT THE SPARTANS

Michigan State is coming off a tie for fourth place at the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional in North Carolina last weekend.
The Spartans entered the final round in seventh place and were one of two teams (Virginia) to advance to the NCAA Championships following a three-team playoff to secure a spot in Carlsbad.
The Spartans have eight top-five team finishes during the 2025-26 season, including five during the second half of the year.
Senior Taylor Kehoe leads the team in round played (33) and scoring average.
Kehoe, who has three top-5 finishes, five among the top-10 and nine among the top-20, leads the team with a 72.24 scoring average.
Kehoe tied for fifth place at the Big Ten Championships (3-over par 213), earning a spot on the All-Championship Team, and followed that up with a fourth-place finish (3-under par 207) at the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional.
Junior Ana Sofia Murcia is making her second appearance in the NCAA Championships as a Spartan, playing as part of the 2025 team that finished in 18th place … She tied for 76th last year at 8-over par 224 (73-78-73).
Murcia carries a 75.00 average in 25 rounds over nine events … Her top finish this year was a third-place showing at the Windy City Classic at 6-under par 210 in late September … She tied for 37th place with an 11-over par 221 (72-57-74) at the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional.
The MSU lineup for the NCAA Championships includes three underclassmen, including sophomore Grace Vetter and a pair of freshmen, Sarisa Pojanalai and Lucia Valderrama.
Vetter has played in 22 rounds over nine events, carrying a 74.09 scoring average, with two top-20 finishes.
Pojanalai is fourth on the team with a 74.24 scoring average in 25 rounds this season, including three top-20 showings, all in the spring season … She closed the regular season with a career-best ninth-place finish at the Buckeye Invitational and has a 73.63 scoring average in five events during the second half of the season.
Valderrama is fifth on the team with a 74.40 scoring average over nine events and 25 rounds … She has a top-10 finish this season and three in the top-20, including a tie for 16th place at the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional at 4-over par 214 (70-74-70).
In the final two events of the regular season, 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 74.18 scoring average in the spring.

MODEL OF CONSISTENCY

The Michigan State women's golf program has appeared in 27 of the past 29 NCAA Regionals (1999-2014; 2016-26) and has earned a berth in the NCAA Championships 17 times since 2000 (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025 2026).
In addition, since the inception of the conference championships in 1974, only Ohio State (18) has won more Big Ten Conference titles than the Spartans (14).
MSU won five consecutive Big Ten titles from 1974-78, and has won conference crowns in 1982, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2021.

HEAD COACH STACY SLOBODNIK-STOLL

In Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll's 29 years guiding the program, she has led MSU to eight Big Ten titles (2001, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2021), 16 trips to the NCAA Championships (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026), and 27 appearances in the NCAA Regionals (1999-2014, 2016-26).
MSU has won 46 tournaments during Slobodnik-Stoll's tenure, and her players have earned All-Big Ten honors 63 times, including 38 first-team selections.
She has been voted Big Ten Coach of the Year on five occasions (2001, 2007, 2012, 2017, 2018).
Slobodnik-Stoll was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in June 2017 and the Women's Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame in December 2017.

FAMILIAR TERRITORY

Michigan State is making its ninth-straight NCAA Regionals appearance and 25th since 1999.
The Spartans are looking to advance to the NCAA Championships for the fourth-straight year and the fifth time in the last six years.
Michigan State advanced to the Championships last year after a third-place finish at the NCAA Norman Regional, with senior Taylor Kehoe tying for fifth place to lead the team.
MSU won the NCAA Palm Beach Regional in 2023, the program's first-ever NCAA Regional win, with Brooke Biermann taking medalist honors, before finishing in 18th place at the NCAA Championships.

FOR THE RECORD BOOK

In just two years, senior Taylor Kehoe has put her name among the top players in program history.
Kehoe has been one of the top players for MSU over the last two years since her transfer from Alabama.
She leads the team with a 72.24 scoring average, which ranks tied as the fifth-best single-season in program history … Over the last two seasons at MSU, Kehoe has played in 22 events over 63 rounds and carries a 72.33 scoring average that ranks first all-time (minimum 60 rounds played).

ALL-B1G SPARTANS

Seniors Paula Balanzategui and Taylor Kehoe were among a group of 10 golfers selected to the All-Big Ten Second Team, while senior Shannon Kennedy was a recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Balanzategui, a four-year letterwinner for the Spartans, is second on the team with a 73.20 scoring average over 12 events and 32 rounds.
She posted two top-5 finishes, four among the top-10 and five among the top-20 this season while tying for the team lead in rounds counted at 83.9 percent (26-of-31).
She was the team's top finisher twice this season, including a second-place finish at the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational with a 1-under par 215 and a tie for sixth place at the Briar's Creek Invitational with a 3-under par 141.
Kehoe, who has spent the last two years in East Lansing after transferring from Alabama, earns her second-straight all-conference honor as she was a second-team selection as a junior.
This year, she leads the team with a 72.24 scoring average over 12 events and 33 rounds.
She has three top-5 finishes, five among the top-10 and nine among the top-20 while tying with Balanzategui for the team lead in rounds counted toward the team total at 90.6 percent (29-of-32).
She has been the team's top finisher seven times, including her first career individual win when she shot a 6-under par 134 to help the Spartans to the team title at the Carolina Challenge Cup on April 4.
Kehoe also was selected to the All-Big Ten Championship Tournament Team last week when she tied for fifth place at 3-over par 213.
Kennedy, a former walk-on, earns the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for the second time in her career.
The 2024 Michigan Women's Amateur Champion, Kennedy is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and has twice been named a Women's Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar.