Feb. 15, 2004

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Michigan State women's golf team concluded tournament action at the Spartan/Wildcat Cup in Orlando, Fla. beating the Northwestern Wildcats 14.5 to 3.5. The dual match, held at Orlando's Orange County National Golf Course, spanned the weekend (Feb. 14-15), with Saturday's 36-hole action serving as seeding for Sunday's 18-hole match-play competition. Scoring for Sunday's round was broken down into six seeded matches, each worth a value of three points. One point was awarded to the best score at the front nine holes, one point for the back nine and finally one point for the total high score per matched seed.

Saturday (Feb. 14), the teams played two 18-hole rounds, where the Spartans held a 24 shot team advantage, shooting a 948 (464-484). Northwestern finished the day out with a 972 (481-491).

Pacing the way for the Spartans in Saturday's double round action were seniors Allison Fouch (Grand Rapids, Mich) and Sarah Martin (Grosse Ile, Mich.). Both players finished the day shooting a 152, tying for first place on the team. Northwestern's Alice Kim concluded Saturday's action topping the charts for Northwestern, having shot a 150 (74-76).

Sophomore Dayna Burleigh (Horsham, Pa.) finished third for the Spartans, shooting a 159 (75-84), while senior Ann Marie Kersten (Oak Harbor, Ohio) ended the day one shot behind Burleigh with a 160 (78-82).

Freshmen Heather Rose (Chillicothe, Ohio) and Mandi McConnell (Grand Blanc, Mich.) rounded out the scoresheet for the team. Rose finished the day with a 161 (79-82), while McConnell shot a 164 (82-82).

With a tie for the Spartans' top spot in Sunday's match play competition between Fouch and Martin, the best score in Saturday's final round decided the number one seed. Martin shot a 78, while Fouch shot a 76, securing the number one seed. She faced off against Northwestern's Alice Kim on Sunday.

Martin was set to battle Northwestern's number two seed Ina Kim, who finished the tournament's first two rounds with a 160 (78-82). Burleigh faced off against number three seed Kelly Robb (161, 76-85), while Kersten matched-up against Lauren Grzebien (167, 84-83). Rose played Mary Ellen Grzebien (166, 85-81) in the battle of the number five seeds and McConnell rounded out the lineup facing the number six seed Heather Scholten (168, 84-84).

Teams teed off for Sunday's (Feb. 15) match-play competition at 7:40 a.m. Martin led the way for the Spartans, shooting a tournament-best 73 in the 18 holes of play, while Northwestern's Ina Kim shot an 84.

In the battle of the top seeds, MSU's Fouch shot a 78, while Alice Kim shot an 82. Kim was the overall leader in Saturday's double round action.

Burleigh defeated Northwestern's Robb by one stroke, 77-78. Kersten also beat her partner, Northwestern's Mary Ellen Grzebien, 76-79.

Rounding out the Spartan lineup, Rose defeated Lauren Grzebien in the battle of the five seeds, 79-83, while McConnell edged Scholten 80-84, securing a sweep for the Spartans over the Wildcats in each of their six match-ups.

Michigan State will hit the links for their second tournament of the spring season Feb. 23-24 at the Central District Classic held in Parrish, Fla.