East Lansing, Mich. \u2013 Michigan State’s women’s golf team travels to North Carolina this weekend and will begin play in the NCAA Chapel Hill Region on Monday, May 11 at UNC’s Finley Golf Club.<\/p>\n
The three-day, 54-hole tournament starts on Monday with 18 holes and will run through Wednesday, May 13.<\/p>\n
The Spartans tee off on Monday at 8:55 a.m. from the first hole, playing alongside NC State and High Point.<\/p>\n
Live scoring will be available via Clippd<\/a>.<\/p>\n THE LINEUP
FAMILIAR TERRITORY<\/p>\n
REGIONALS EXPERIENCE<\/p>\n
FOR THE RECORD BOOK<\/p>\n
ALL-B1G SPARTANS<\/p>\n
MODEL OF CONSISTENCY<\/p>\n
HEAD COACH STACY SLOBODNIK-STOLL<\/p>\n
ABOUT THE SPARTANS
\n1. Taylor Kehoe<\/a>
\n2. Sarisa Pojanalai<\/a>
\n3. Grace Vetter<\/a>
\n4. Lucia Valderrama<\/a>
\n5. Ana Sofia Murcia<\/a>
\nSUB \u2013 Paula Balanzategui<\/a>
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\nTHE NCAA NORMAN REGIONAL FIELD
\nThe Spartans were an at-large selected and are the No. 7 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional \u2026 The 12 teams competing in the regional include, in order of seed, Texas, North Carolina, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Kent State, Virginia, Michigan State, NC State, High Point, Furman, Richmond and Howard.
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\nSTARTING FIVE
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\n\tThe Spartans are making their 10th-straight NCAA Regional appearance and the program’s 26th since 1999.
\n\tMichigan State is ranked No. 39 in the country in the latest NCAA Division I Rankings.
\n\tMSU is coming off an eighth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships.
\n\tThe Spartans, who won the Carolina Challenge on April 4 (8-under par 552) at the Finley Golf Club.
\n\tMSU has posted seven top-5 team finishes this season, including a team win at North Carolina and a third-place finish at the Briar’s Creek Invitational.
\n\tSenior\u00a0Paula Balanzategui<\/a> and Taylor Kehoe<\/a> earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors last week.
<\/p>\n
\n\tMichigan State is making its ninth-straight NCAA Regionals appearance and 25th since 1999.
\n\tThe Spartans are looking to advance to the NCAA Championships for the fourth-straight year and the fifth time in the last six years.
\n\tMichigan State advanced to the Championships last year after a third-place finish at the NCAA Norman Regional, with senior Taylor Kehoe<\/a> tying for fifth place to lead the team.
\n\tMSU won the NCAA Palm Beach Regional in 2023, the program’s first-ever NCAA Regional win, with Brooke Biermann<\/a> taking medalist honors, before finishing in 18th place at the NCAA Championships.
<\/p>\n
\n\tWhile head coach\u00a0Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll<\/a>\u00a0is making her 26th appearance in NCAA Regionals, Michigan State enters with a very unique lineup, featuring two players in the scoring five (Taylor Kehoe<\/a> and Ana Sofia Murcia<\/a>) who have played in the postseason and three underclassmen.
\n\tSenior Taylor Kehoe<\/a> will be making her second appearance in the NCAA Regionals for Michigan State and her third overall, including playing in the 2023 Palm Beach Regional during her freshman year at Alabama, tying for 51st place at 16-over par 232.
\n\tHer fifth-place finish at 4-under par 212 in the NCAA Norman Regional is the best of her career.
\n\tJunior Ana Sofia Murcia<\/a> is making her second NCAA Regional appearance, tying for 36th place last year at the NCAA Norman Regional at 7-over par 223.
\n\tSenior Paula Balanzategui<\/a> enters the regional as the team’s sub and has appeared in a pair of NCAA Regions during her MSU career.
\n\tThe remainder of the team’s lineup includes sophomore transfer Grace Vetter<\/a> and a pair of freshmen, Sarisa Pojanalai<\/a> and Lucia Valderrama<\/a>.
\n\tThe Spartans’ three lowest 54-hole team scores at an NCAA Regional have come since 2017.
\n\tMSU set a school record in 2024 with a 4-under par 860, finishing in third place among 12 teams at the East Lansing Regional to advance to the NCAA Championships.
\n\tThe mark of 860 topped the team’s 872 in the 2023 NCAA Palm Beach Regional and was originally set by the 2017 squad in Athens.
\n\tLast year, MSU posted the program’s second-best NCAA Regional score with a 1-over par 863, including a school-record best round at 6-under par 282 in the second round of the NCAA Norman Regional.
<\/p>\n
\n\tSeniors Paula Balanzategui<\/a> and Taylor Kehoe<\/a> rank among the top players in program history.
\n\tBalanzategui has been a part of the MSU lineup since her freshman year when she played in six events and spent the next two years helping to lead the Spartans to the NCAA Regionals and Championships.
\n\tHer season average of 73.20 ranks as the 16th-best in a single season in program history.
\n\tFor her career, Balanzategui has played in 41 events and 118 rounds, carrying a four-year average of 74.37 that ranks 10th all-time in program history.
\n\tKehoe has been one of the top players for MSU over the last two years since her transfer from Alabama.
\n\tShe leads the team with a 72.57 scoring average, which ranks tied for the ninth-best single-season in program history.
\n\tOver the last two seasons at MSU, Kehoe has played in 21 events over 60 rounds and carries a 72.50 scoring average that ranks first all-time (minimum 60 rounds played).\u00a0
<\/p>\n
\n\tSeniors Paula Balanzategui<\/a> and Taylor Kehoe<\/a> were among a group of 10 golfers selected to the All-Big Ten Second Team, while senior Shannon Kennedy<\/a> was a recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
\n\tBalanzategui, a four-year letterwinner for the Spartans, is second on the team with a 73.20 scoring average over 11 events and 30 rounds.
\n\tShe has posted two top-5 finishes, four among the top-10 and five among the top-20 this season while tying for the team lead in rounds counted at 89.7 percent (26-of-29).
\n\tShe has been the team’s top finisher twice this season, including a second-place finish at the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational with a 1-under par 215 and a tie for sixth place at the Briar’s Creek Invitational with a 3-under par 141.
\n\tKehoe, who has spent the last two years in East Lansing after transferring from Alabama, earns her second-straight all-conference honor as she was a second-team selection as a junior.
\n\tThis year, she leads the team with a 72.57 scoring average over 11 events and 30 rounds.
\n\tShe has two top-5 finishes, four among the top-10 and eight among the top-20 while tying with Balanzategui for the team lead in rounds counted toward the team total at 89.7 percent (26-of-29).
\n\tShe has been the team’s top finisher six times, including her first career individual win when she shot a 6-under par 134 to help the Spartans to the team title at the Carolina Challenge Cup on April 4.
\n\tKehoe also was selected to the All-Big Ten Championship Tournament Team last week when she tied for fifth place at 3-over par 213.
\n\tKennedy, a former walk-on, earns the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for the second time in her career.
\n\tThe 2024 Michigan Women’s Amateur Champion, Kennedy is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and has twice been named a Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar.
<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Michigan State women’s golf program has appeared in 26 of the past 28 NCAA Regionals (1999-2014; 2016-26) and has earned a berth in the NCAA Championships 16 times since 2000 (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025).
\n\tIn addition, since the inception of the conference championships in 1974, only Ohio State (18) has won more league titles than the Spartans (14).
\n\tMSU won five consecutive Big Ten titles from 1974-78, and has won conference crowns in 1982, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2021.
<\/p>\n
\n\tIn\u00a0Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll<\/a>‘s 29 years guiding the program, she has led MSU to eight Big Ten titles (2001, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2021), 15 trips to the NCAA Championships (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025), and 26 appearances in the NCAA Regionals (1999-2014, 2016-26).
\n\tMSU has won 46 tournaments during Slobodnik-Stoll’s tenure, and her players have earned All-Big Ten honors 63 times, including 38 first-team selections.
\n\tShe has been voted Big Ten Coach of the Year on five occasions (2001, 2007, 2012, 2017, 2018).
\n\tSlobodnik-Stoll was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in June 2017 and the Women’s Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame in December 2017.
<\/p>\n
\nMichigan State closed out the regular season with a fourth-place finish among 14 teams at the Buckeye Invitational on April 17-18. In six spring events, the Spartans finished among the top-five four times, including a team win at the Carolina Challenge Cup on April 4 at Finley Golf Club in Chapel Hill, N.C.
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\nThis weekend will be MSU’s second trip to North Carolina and the Finley Golf Club in just over a month. On April 4 in North Carolina, MSU took home the team championship at the 2026 Carolina Challenge Cup, the Spartans’ first team win this season and their best finish since the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational in 2025 \u2026 The Spartans were the only team in the field to finish under par, carding an 8-under par 552 (276-276) \u2026 Leading the way for the Spartans was senior\u00a0Taylor Kehoe<\/a>, who finished in first place overall and collected the first win of her career with a 6-under par 134 (68-66) performance \u2026 Kehoe’s 4-under par 66 in the second round was the best single round of her Spartan career, with her previous best being a 64 in 2023 while at Alabama \u2026 Following Kehoe was classmate\u00a0Paula Balanzategui<\/a>, finishing in second place in the field at 3-under par 137 (67-70) \u2026 Balanzategui’s second place finish tied the best finish of her collegiate career \u2026 Freshman\u00a0Lucia Valderrama<\/a>\u00a0finished tied for fifth place among the field at 1-under par 139 (72-67) \u2026 Valderrama’s second round 3-under par 67 was the best round of her career, tallying five birdies in the round.
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\nKehoe is tied for the team lead in rounds played this season (30 apiece) \u2026 Kehoe, who has two top-5 finishes, four among the top-10 and eight among the top-20, leads the team with a 72.57 scoring average \u2026 Kehoe tied for fifth place at the Big Ten Championships (3-over par 213), earning a spot on the All-Championship Team \u2026 Murcia carries a 75.18 average in 22 rounds over eight events \u2026 Her top finish this year was a third-place showing at the Windy City Classic at 6-under par 210 in late September.
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\nThe MSU lineup for the NCAA Regionals includes three underclassmen, including sophomore Grace Vetter<\/a> and a pair of freshmen, Sarisa Pojanalai<\/a> and Lucia Valderrama<\/a> \u2026 Vetter has played in 21 rounds over eight events, carrying a 74.00 scoring average, with two top-20 finishes \u2026 Pojanalai is fourth on the team with a 74.55 scoring average in 22 rounds this season, including three top-20 showings, all in the spring season \u2026 She closed the regular season with a career-best ninth-place finish at the Buckeye Invitational and has a 73.23 scoring average in five events during the second half of the season \u2026 Valderrama is fifth on the team with a 74.82 scoring average over eight events and 22 rebounds \u2026 She has a top-10 finish this season and two in the top-20, both coming in the last two events \u2026 She tied for fifth place at Carolina Challenge Cup at 1-under par 139 and tied for 11th place at the Buckeye Invitational at 9-over par 225 \u2026 Valderrama has a 74.79 scoring average in the spring \u2026 Senior Paula Balanzategui<\/a> is traveling with the team as a sub \u2026 She has two top-5 finishes, four among the top-10 and five in the top-20, is second on the team with a 73.20 scoring average and has had 89.7 percent of her rounds count toward the team total.
\n\u00a0
\nTHE COURSE
\nDedicated in October 2023 after a yearlong restoration, the UNC Finley Golf Club is located on Finley Golf Course Road on the Carolina campus. The most recent renovation was led by Love Golf Design and Davis Love III, who played for the Tar Heels from 1982 to 1986, company president Mark Love, also a Carolina graduate and former Tar Heel golfer, and lead architect Scot Sherman.
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