A record-shattering day resulted in a tournament victory for the women’s golf team in Pinehurst, N.C., on Wednesday.
The squad won the three-day Pine Needles Invitational by firing a 288 in the final round, breaking the school mark of 290 set twice last season.
Pinehurst will be the site of the 2001 U.S. Women’s Open.
MSU’s score of 288 was 10 strokes better than any other team on the third day, vaulting the Spartans from fifth place after two rounds to first.
“We finally did what we’re capable of,” MSU head coach Stacy Slobodnik said. “It’s been a long time coming and it felt great. I knew we were bound to shoot a good score.”
Overall, MSU finished with an 890, three strokes better than second-place South Florida. Kentucky came in third with 903. The Spartans were 16 strokes off the pace after the first day of play, but steadily climbed their way back into contention.
Junior Stacy Snider paced the Spartans to victory, finishing third overall with a 218 (74-73-71).
Two other Spartans placed in the top 11 at the tournament, including junior Emily Bastel’s fifth-place finish. Bastel’s 75-72-73 for an overall 220 kept her ahead of senior Kasey Gant, who finished in a tie for 11th with a 224 (79-74-71).
“Between Emily, Kasey and Stacy, I think they’ve broken every record at the school,” Slobodnik said. “We knew we were capable inside, but we haven’t been able to post those numbers. Now we know we can.”
A trio of freshmen rounded out the Spartan contingent, led by Sarah Martin at 228. Ann Marie Kersten notched a 232 and Allison Fouch finished with a 243.
The win was the first tournament victory for the team this fall. The Spartans’ previous best was a third-place finish at the Big Ten/Big 12 Shootout last month.
“Tournament victories are so hard to get, because you’re playing against 11 other teams at one time,” Slobodnik said. “Victories are harder to come by in golf than in most other sports.”
Fany Schaeffer of South Florida won the tournament individual title by beating Laura Torrisi of Campbell in a playoff. The two finished with matching scores of 216 in regulation play.
The women’s team is finished with play until February, when the spring season starts in Los Angeles at the TRW Regional Challenge.
