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 – SCOREBOARD – Big Ten Women’s Golf Championships (Women) Team Leaderboard
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.
