Brown won three of the team’s last four tournaments and is ready to compete in Pennsylvania this weekend with her team.

This fall, she didn’t expect to win even one tournament — much less three — she said. Since struggling at the end of last year’s season, Brown’s confidence level has improved, and so has her game.

“I think that’s part of her right now, having that reflection of remembering last year and saying, ‘OK, this is not going to happen again,’” said head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll.

Brown is hoping to carry the momentum of her individual Ohio State win last weekend onto the green in Pennsylvania.

“It would be nice to get another one under my belt at the Big Ten,” Brown said.

The Spartans are looking to defend last year’s conference title and be a presence on the course at the NCAA Championships.

“We want another ring, we want to make it to nationals and we want to finish in the top 10 there,” Slobodnik-Stoll said.

MSU has all the talent to achieve that goal, even as a young team, said senior Jordyn Wells, one of the Spartans’ top golfers this season.

“If we put it all together, if we all get going at the same time, I think we could be awesome,” Wells said.

Purdue’s team — which placed second at nationals in 2007 — will be MSU’s leading challenger in the Big Ten Tournament. The Spartans will play 36 holes against the Boilermakers on the first day of competition.

But Purdue did not go to Penn State for the fall Big Ten preview, and their team has fewer strong players. The Spartans have more depth as a team, and that will give the team an advantage, Slobodnik-Stoll said.

“It’s golf, and anything can happen to anyone in the country,” she said. “We crushed them last year, and they were ranked a heck of a lot higher.”

After a third place overall finish at Ohio State, the women plan to work together to bring home a win.

“We were upset about last week, but last week was just a warm up for the Big Ten (Championships),” Wells said. “And the Big Ten is a warm-up for regionals and regionals is ultimately a warm-up for nationals.”

At this point in the season, Slobodnik-Stoll is encouraging the women to keep practicing and focusing on what’s ahead.

“There’s always going to be bumps in the road, and there’s always going to be a bad round here and there,” she said. “We just want to make sure, in the next three weeks, that doesn’t happen again.”

Despite challenges leading to the tournament, the golfers are maintaining a confident perspective.

“It’s just always a test of how good and how tough and how strong our student athletes are,” Slobodnik-Stoll said. “That’s hopefully how I do my job, and prepare them to compete with the best and to be one of the best. That’s what we strive for year after year.”