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Women's Golf Begins Quest for NCAA Championship Appearance
 
Spartans tee off at the NCAA West Regional on Thursday morning at 11:10 a.m. ET.
 
 
 
Junior Holly Niederkohr will be playing in her third-straight NCAA Regional this week in Lincoln, Calif.
 
Junior Holly Niederkohr will be playing in her third-straight NCAA Regional this week in Lincoln, Calif.
 
 

May 7, 2008

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Appearing in its 10th-straight NCAA Regional, the Michigan State women's golf team begins play on Thursday, May 8 at the 2008 NCAA West Regional Championship at the Lincoln Hills Golf Club in Lincoln, Calif. The Spartans tee off at 11:10 a.m. ET on Thursday, beginning the three-day, 54-hole qualifying event for the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship.

"We are looking forward to a great week out west as we vie for a spot at the National Championship," said head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll. "We have prepared all season for this opportunity, and our team is ready to finish among the top-eight and move onto nationals."

Two Spartans enter the week with prior regional experience. Senior Sara Brown, the 22nd-ranked collegiate golfer in the country according to Golfweek/Sagarin, has played in each of the last three, leading the team as a sophomore and a freshman with a tie for 19th and 20th, respectively. Meanwhile, junior Holly Niederkohr has participated in each of her two seasons, with her best finish coming last season, a tie for 34th. Joining Brown and Niederkohr in the lineup will be senior Jordyn Wells, sophomore Laura Kueny and freshman Aimee Neff. Both Brown and Kueny were First Team All-Big Ten selections, while Neff was a second team choice in her initial campaign.

The Spartans, who are currently ranked No. 17 in the Golfweek/Sagarin ranking, are among the 21 schools competing in the west region, hosted by California State University-Sacramento. Making up the field is No. 1 Southern California, No. 5 Arizona State, No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 9 Arkansas, No. 13 Arizona, No. 22 California, No. 25 Stanford, No. 30 BYU, No. 33 North Carolina, No. 34 Tulsa, No. 39 Oklahoma, No. 40 San Jose State, No. 41 Ohio State, No. 42 Oregon, No. 45 UNLV, UC Davis, UC Irvine, Fresno State, Oral Roberts and Portland State.

 

 

MSU will be playing on Thursday with Stanford and BYU. Niederkohr begins action with a 11:10 a.m. ET tee time off the first hole, followed by Wells (11:20), Neff (11:30), Brown (11:40) and Kueny (11:50).

The Spartans have been top-eight finishers in six of the last eight regionals, to qualify them for the NCAA Championships. Last season, Michigan State finished eighth. In all, eight MSU women's golf teams have participated in NCAA Championship play.

The top-eight finishers from each of the three regions will advance to the 27th NCAA Championship, held on May 20-23 at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course in Albuquerque, N. M.

Live scoring will be available throughout the weekend, by clicking here.