Lansing Sun

Michigan State University's women's golf team saw notable achievements at the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships held at La Costa Champions Course in Carlsbad, California. Junior Katie Lu and senior Leila Raines advanced to the fourth round of stroke play, marking a significant milestone for the Spartans.

The team finished tied for 17th place among 30 teams on Sunday, narrowly missing advancement to the final round as a team. However, Lu and Raines were among the top nine individuals not on advancing teams, allowing them to compete in Monday's final round for the individual championship.

Head Coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll informed Raines first about her qualification after she led the Spartans by tying for 27th place at 3-over par 219. Later, Lu was also told she had qualified. Slobodnik-Stoll expressed pride in having two athletes from Michigan State reach this stage: "It was a pretty special day for our program to have two student-athletes representing Michigan State in the final round of the NCAA Championships."

Raines shot a 3-over par 75 in the fourth round and tied for 28th place at 6-over par 294. Reflecting on her experience, Raines said, "Obviously, we wanted to have our whole team playing today, but to get to share this round of golf with Katie was something I'll remember forever."

Lu completed her final day with a 6-over 78 and tied for 45th place at 10-over par 298. This marks her second consecutive year reaching the final round. Lu remarked on sharing this moment with Raines: "Like Leila said, we wanted to advance as a team, but it was pretty cool to be able to share this final round with her."

The Spartans achieved significant results throughout their season under Coach Slobodnik-Stoll's leadership, participating in their third NCAA Championships over four years and securing several top-five finishes.