Michigan State women’s golf advances to NCAA Championships

After a stellar second round performance by the Michigan State women’s golf team, the Spartans found themselves in position to qualify for the NCAA Championships entering the final day in fourth place. And the team did not disappoint.

Michigan State needed to finish in the top five out of 12 teams to qualify, and the Spartans did just that by finishing third and qualifying for the NCAA championships for the fourth year in a row.

Michigan State finished day three with a 3-under team score, one of only three teams to finish under par for the day. This moved them up one spot to third place, finishing 4-under par overall.

USC took home first place at 9-under par and Oklahoma State came in second at 5-under par.

Michigan State was led by Leila Raines who finished fourth place overall at 6-under par. Katie Lu finished in 14th place at even par and Brooke Biermann and Paula Balanzategui tied for 20th at 3-over par.

Michigan State also made program history this week as this was the lowest team score in program history at the NCAA Regionals. Raine’s 6-under par finish is also the lowest individual score for a Spartan at the NCAA Regionals as well.

This marks the 12th appearance in program history at the NCAA Championships, which will take place in California from May 17-22. This event features 30 teams, where Michigan State will need to be in the top 15 after three rounds and then the top eight after the fourth and final round to advance to the match play finals.

Best of luck as the Spartans march on to the NCAA Championships.