March 11, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Led by four individuals finishing in the top 20, the No. 21/17 Michigan State women's golf team finished in third-place at the 72-hole event at 50-over-par at the Sun Trust Lady Gator Invitational, held at the par-70 University of Florida Golf Course.

After a tournament-best round of 288 as a team on Saturday afternoon, the Spartans shot a 303 in the final round to finish at 892 (301-288-303), just two strokes behind 28th-ranked Texas Christian and 16 behind tournament champion, 12th-ranked Florida. The Spartans were led by senior Rachel Meikle (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll), who finished in 11th after her final round of 75 gave her a three-round total of 222 (76-71-75).

Senior Heather Rose (Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe) finished 18th at 224 (73-73-78) while both sophomore Holly Niederkohr (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) and junior Sara Brown (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic) tied for 19th at 225.

"Every tournament is a learning experience," Michigan State head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll said. "It's been a great 10 days because every player found something on their game they can work on. Every tournament is just one more step to that third weekend in May. We had a lot of positives come out of this tournament, like finishing ahead of (No. 9) Tennessee."

Meikle shot a team-best 75 to lead the Spartans in their final round, as she had 12 pars and a birdie on the par-3, 156-yard No. 8 during her final round. Meikle has finished in the top 20 at two straight events -- she finished18th at the Central District Invitational.

"Rachel has just been steady. She played well in Tampa this week and she played well at this tournament," Slobodnik-Stoll said.

Rose fired a 78 in her final round, but did have a birdie on the par-4, 395-yard No. 4. Rose started the tournament with back-to-back rounds of 73 on Saturday and has finished in the top 20 in each of the Spartans' three spring tournaments.

"I think the 71 was big for her because it was a 36-hole day," Slobodnik-Stoll said. "We really made progress with her and didn't let her get down on herself. It was awesome to see her do that and she felt good about it."

Brown finished her last day at the Lady Gator with a 76, as the junior posted 12 pars and birdied the par-5, 511-yard No. 3. Brown has placed in the top 20 in all but one event this year.

Senior Mandi McConnell (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) finished tied for 28th at 17-over-par for the tournament. Her last round of 76 was a part of the final team score during the last day, as she mixed 12 pars with six bogeys to finish 6-over-par.

Competing individually, junior Jordyn Wells (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) also finished tied for 28th at 17-over-par and junior Kristen Polanski (Livonia, Mich./Livonia Stevenson) was tied for 70th with a three-round total of 241.

Michigan State takes a weekend off before heading to the Liz Murphey Invitational. Hosted by Georgia in Athens, Ga., the three-day, 72-hole affair begins on Friday, March 23.