Lansing Sun

Michigan State University's women's golf team concluded their participation in the NCAA Women's Golf Championships, tying for 17th place among 30 teams. The event took place at the La Costa Champions Course in Carlsbad, California. Despite a strong effort to climb up the standings during the third round, the Spartans were unable to secure a spot among the top-15 teams needed to advance.

The championship is led by Texas A&M, which enters Monday's final round of stroke play with a score of 10-under par 854. Stanford follows closely at 9-under par 855, while LSU holds third place at 1-under par 863. Clemson and Northwestern complete the top five.

Michigan State finished with a score of 28-over par 892 (288-304-300), falling short of advancing. "We played the back nine again, which was the toughest for sure, especially when it's windy," said Head Coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll. She expressed pride in her team's efforts despite not reaching their goal.

Senior Leila Raines and junior Katie Lu will compete for individual honors on Monday as they are among the top nine individuals not on advancing teams. This marks Lu's second consecutive year advancing to this stage. "I am very proud of both Leila and Katie," Slobodnik-Stoll stated.

Raines tied for 27th individually at 3-over par 219 (71-73-75), while Lu tied for 34th at 4-over par 220 (72-73-75). Junior Brooke Bierman finished tied for 86th place with an overall score of 11-over par, and Shannon Kennedy and Paula Balanzategui also contributed to Michigan State's performance.

Reflecting on their season, Slobodnik-Stoll highlighted several achievements including a high team GPA and strong tournament performances: "It's hard not to say this year was a total success when our team had a 3.853 GPA this spring...we were three strokes away from making the top-15 so there's nothing to be ashamed about with this group."

The Spartans have participated in three NCAA Championships over four years under Slobodnik-Stoll's leadership and continue to look forward optimistically: "Looking back...the future is so bright for us."