Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll Position: Head Coach Experience: 12th Year

As she enters her 12th season at the helm, Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll continues to carry the Spartan women's golf program into the regional and national spotlight year after year.

The driven former Spartan player was named head coach on June 20, 1997, and immediately began assembling the talent necessary to contend for Big Ten Championships and compete at the national level on a yearly basis. In 11 seasons, she has led the Spartans to 10 straight NCAA Regional appearances, (1999-2008), six trips to the NCAA Championships, (2000-03, 2005, 2007) and two Big Ten titles (2001, 2007). In addition, Michigan State has won 22 tournaments during this span, including four during the 2000-01 season and three in 1998-99, 2001-02, 2003-04 and 2007-08. Her success earned her Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in 2001 and 2007, along with being named Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 1999.

"I believe that each year it is my responsibility to improve as a recruiter, a teacher, a sports psychologist, a motivator and a leader," said Slobodnik-Stoll. "We must keep up and be on the cutting edge for our student-athletes and our program. Once you have tasted victory, it's hard to forget. It only drives me to work harder to make sure that each year we will have an opportunity to win the Big Ten Championship and finish as one of the top programs in the country."

Over the last 10 years, Slobodnik-Stoll's players have earned All-Big Ten honors 22 times, including three Spartans in 2004 (Allison Fouch - first team, and Ann Marie Kersten and Sarah Martin - second team), 2007 (Sara Brown - first team, and Mandi McConnell and Rachel Meikle - second team) and 2008 (Sara Brown and Laura Kueny - first team, and Aimee Neff - second team).

In 2002, Emily Bastel became the first Spartan golfer to receive Big Ten Women's Golf Player of the Year honors. In addition, a Spartan player took home Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors in 1998 (Kasey Gant), 1999 (Bastel) and 2003 (Dayna Burleigh). In 2001, Gant became the first Spartan golfer to earn All-Big Ten honors in four-consecutive years, while Bastel became the second to achieve the feat the next season.

"Those rushes that you have as a coach and as a player -- holding the trophy, seeing the Academic All-American awards given out -- those moments are unforgettable," said Slobodnik-Stoll. "It drives you and the players to become better and better."

Individual accolades for Slobodnik-Stoll's players keep growing year by year. Bastel became just the second MSU golfer to be named to the Curtis Cup team in 2002, while Allison Fouch qualified for the 2003 U.S. Women's Open Championship as an amateur. Bastel and Fouch also earned All-America honors under Slobodnik-Stoll, as Bastel received second-team distinction in 2002 and Fouch earned honorable mention status in 2004. This past season, Sara Brown added her name to the All-American list with honorable mention recognition.

Slobodnik-Stoll's players have also gone beyond the college ranks. Stacy Snider competed on the LPGA Tour from 2004-06, and currently Bastel and Fouch are exempt players on the tour. Brown completed her collegiate career and joined two former Spartans - Sarah Martin and Mandi McConnell - on the Duramed FUTURES Tour.

In 2007-08, the Spartans posted three tournament wins (Mary Fossum Invitational, CDI, "Mo"Morial) and seven top five finishes in 11 events, earning them a top-20 finish in all three national polls. MSU placed second at the Big Ten Championship, their eighth top-three finish under Slobodnik-Stoll, and finished 11th at the NCAA West Regional, one stroke short of an NCAA berth. At season's end, Sara Brown, who set the school's single-season and career stroke average records, was named an honorable mention All-American, the third under Slobodnik-Stoll, and the George Alderton Female Athlete of the Year for the second-time. Brown was joined by Laura Kueny on the All-Big Ten First Team, while Aimee Neff was named to the second team. Also, Brown posted three individual titles, while Kueny added her first career win. After the Spartans' win at the "Mo"Morial, they were named Golfweek's National Team of the Week and had previously been named to the publication's team of the week honor week after their win at the CDI.

The 2006-07 Spartans were ranked among the nation's top 25 throughout the season, achieving a final ranking of 19th after a 16th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. The team posted wins on their home course, Forest Akers West Golf Course, in the Lady Northern and the Big Ten Championship, and finished in second place four times. Two individuals won medallist honors, with Sara Brown winning the Landfall Tradition and Rachel Meikle winning the Big Ten Championship - the second time an MSU golfer has won the tournament under Slobodnik-Stoll. In the process, Slobodnik-Stoll earned her second Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year award. Brown (first team) and Meikle (second team) were joined by Mandi McConnell (second team) on the All-Big Ten teams, while Brown also took home the George Alderton Female Athlete of the Year.

The 2005-06 edition of Michigan State women's golf was also one of the most exciting teams in school history. The Spartans opened the season by not only winning the Mary Fossum Invitational (Sept. 17-18) but setting a tournament record with a three-day team total of 889 (299-295-295). Later in the season at the Northwestern Invitational, MSU had their best scoring weekend in school history. The Spartans had a school-record three-day team total of 864 (286-286-292) and Rachel Meikle set a school individual record for a 54-hole tournament with a score of six-under-par 210 (70-70-70).

A youthful squad in 2004-05, Michigan State did not have a single senior as a member of the traveling party, yet advanced to the NCAA Championship for the fifth time in six years en route to a 17th-place finish that season. In addition to the NCAA Championships, MSU closed out the season with a championship at the Buckeye Invitational, a third-place showing at the Big Ten Championship and a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Central Regionals.

The 2003-04 squad, which finished ranked 19th in the Golfweek/Sagarin poll, won three tournament titles (Badger, Mary Fossum and Boilermaker) and also captured the Spartan/Wildcat Cup in February. MSU placed third at both the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Central Regionals, while advancing to the NCAA Championships. MSU's third-place showing in regional play equaled the team's best-ever showing. Three Spartans (Allison Fouch - first team, and Ann Marie Kersten and Sarah Martin - second team) picked up All-Big Ten accolades and Fouch earned honorable mention All-America honors after placing tied for 16th at the 2004 NCAA Championship.

Although the team included just four returning letterwinners, the 2002-03 Spartans finished in the top 10 in nine of 11 tournaments including a season-best third-place showing at the Mary Fossum Invitational. It also marked MSU's fifth-consecutive trip to the NCAA Regional Championships where the Spartans fell just short of advancing to the NCAA Championships.

Michigan State made its third straight trip to the NCAA Championship in 2002, where the Spartans placed 19th. MSU, which finished the year ranked 14th by Golfweek/Sagarin, also hosted the 2002 NCAA Central Region Championships at Forest Akers West Golf Course in May. Overall, MSU captured three titles (Pine Needles Invitational, Central District Classic and the USF Waterlefe Invitational). Emily Bastel was named the George Alderton Female Athlete of the Year for the second time.

Slobodnik-Stoll's work ethic paid off in the spring of 2001 as she led MSU to its first Big Ten Championship since 1982. The Spartans placed third at the NCAA West Regionals and posted the school's best-ever finish at the NCAA Championships with a 12th-place showing. MSU finished the year ranked 16th in the Mastercard Collegiate rankings, while Golfweek had MSU ranked 19th. For her efforts, Slobodnik-Stoll was named the 2001 Big Ten Coach of the Year.

During the 1999-2000 season, Slobodnik-Stoll led MSU to a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championship and its first NCAA Championship appearance since 1984. The Spartans also broke into the national rankings for the first time and finished the year ranked 19th in the country. After the school year, Emily Bastel was named the program's first George Alderton Female Athlete of the Year winner.

Slobodnik-Stoll's first season (1997-98) as head coach was highlighted by a second-place finish in the newly-named Mary Fossum Invitational in the fall and a record-setting campaign by then-freshman Kasey Gant.

That success multiplied in 1998-99, however, as the Spartans engineered the biggest one-year turnaround in Big Ten history (ninth to third in the conference tournament). Michigan State reached the NCAA East Regional that year as well and Slobodnik was named Midwest District Coach of the Year.

A three-year letterwinner at Michigan State, the Kentwood, Mich., native captained the 1992-93 and 1993-94 Spartan squads and shot 11 rounds in the 70s during her final campaign at MSU. After earning her bachelor's degree in communication in 1994, Slobodnik-Stoll played professionally while living in Orlando, Fla. She saw action on the Futures Tour and the Central Florida Challenge for one year prior to returning to MSU in 1995 as an assistant to the legendary coach Mary Fossum.

"One of the goals when I came back as an assistant was to learn everything I could from Mary (Fossum) and use her tools while incorporating my knowledge and philosophy as well. Mary is a special person, and I can't thank her enough for all she's done for me."

Slobodnik-Stoll had the opportunity to gain international coaching experience during the summer of 2002 as she served as the head coach for Team USA in the USA-Japan Matches at the Glen Club in Glenville, Ill.

The Spartan coach also continues to hone her own golf game, winning Michigan State Amateur titles in 1996 and 1998 en route to earning Golf Association of Michigan Player of the Year, an award she won for the third time in 2007. In addition, she has won the last four Golf Association of Michigan Mid-Amateur Championships.

Slobodnik-Stoll has qualified for the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship four times (1994, 1996, 1998, 2001) and in 1997, she participated as an amateur at the LPGA Oldsmobile Classic at Walnut Hills Country Club in East Lansing and fired a 77-73, missing the cut by just four strokes.

In 1996, Slobodnik-Stoll finished fourth among amateurs at the Michigan Women's Open Tournament and in 1998, she won the Golf Association of Michigan Women's Stroke Play Championship. She was the top amateur finisher at the 2004 Michigan Women's Open Championship.

Born Sept. 8, 1971, Slobodnik-Stoll received her master's degree in sports administration from Michigan in 1999. She resides in Haslett with her husband Jim Stoll and daughter Olivia, born Sept. 29, 2003.